Pathogenic significance of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus: analysis of experimental infection in mice.

The phenomenon that mixed infection with certain species of bacteria and Acinetobacter calcoaceticus is more virulent than single infection was analyzed experimentally. In mixed infections with A. calcoaceticus paired with either Escherichia coli, Serratia marcescens, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the virulence of the latter three organisms was markedly increased over that of single infections only by slime-producing strains of A. calcoaceticus. Of the 100 strains of A. calcoaceticus tested, 14 had slime-producing ability. There was scarcely any difference in the chemical components of the slimes of the two strains tested, but the components of the slime of P. aeruginosa were different from those of these strains. The slime of these two strains exhibited lethal activity in mice, but no correlation was found between the amount of slime produced and the virulence. The slime enhanced the virulence of E. coli, S. marcescens, and P. aeruginosa when it was inoculated along with their viable cells. Furthermore, the slime exhibited potent cell-impairing activity against mouse neutrophils both in vitro and in vivo. This activity was considered to be mainly responsible for the enhancement of virulence in mixed infections.