Effect of hemoglobin on the development of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection

The disease caused by injection ofP. aeruginosa suspension in a hemoglobin solution was more severe (greater weight loss and larger abscesses in primary foci) than that induced by the same dose of the microbe in Hanks' solution (control). It was supposed that in the control the viability of the microorganisms was suppressed by iron deficiency in surrounding tissues, which was particularly pronounced upon accumulation in a limited space of great numbers of bacterial cells competing with each other for iron. Iron released from hemoglobin provides better conditions for the development ofP. aeruginosa.