| 1. |
- Carlsson, Fredric, et al.
(författare)
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Signal sequence directs localized secretion of bacterial surface proteins.
- 2006
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Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 442:7105, s. 943-946
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- All living cells require specific mechanisms that target proteins to the cell surface. In eukaryotes, the first part of this process involves recognition in the endoplasmic reticulum of amino-terminal signal sequences and translocation through Sec translocons, whereas subsequent targeting to different surface locations is promoted by internal sorting signals(1). In bacteria, N-terminal signal sequences promote translocation across the cytoplasmic membrane, which surrounds the entire cell, but some proteins are nevertheless secreted in one part of the cell by poorly understood mechanisms(2,3). Here we analyse localized secretion in the Gram-positive pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes, and show that the signal sequences of two surface proteins, M protein and protein F ( PrtF), direct secretion to different subcellular regions. The signal sequence of M protein promotes secretion at the division septum, whereas that of PrtF preferentially promotes secretion at the old pole. Our work therefore shows that a signal sequence may contain information that directs the secretion of a protein to one subcellular region, in addition to its classical role in promoting secretion. This finding identifies a new level of complexity in protein translocation and emphasizes the potential of bacterial systems for the analysis of fundamental cell-biological problems(4).
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| 2. |
- Areschoug, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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A Proline-Rich Region with a Highly Periodic Sequence in Streptococcal beta Protein Adopts the Polyproline II Structure and Is Exposed on the Bacterial Surface.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Journal of Bacteriology. - 0021-9193. ; 184:22, s. 6376-6383
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Proline-rich regions have been identified in many surface proteins of pathogenic streptococci and staphylococci. These regions have been suggested to be located in cell wall-spanning domains and/or to be required for surface expression of the protein. Because little is known about these regions, which are found in extensively studied and biologically important surface proteins, we characterized the proline-rich region in one such protein, the beta protein of group B streptococci. The proline-rich region in beta, designated the XPZ region, has a proline at every third position, and the sequence is highly periodic in other respects. Immunochemical analysis showed that the XPZ region was not associated with the cell wall but was exposed on the bacterial surface. Moreover, characterization of a beta mutant lacking the XPZ region demonstrated that this region was not required for surface expression of the beta protein. Comparison of the XPZ region in different beta proteins showed that it varied in size but always retained the typical sequence periodicity. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated that the XPZ region had the structure of a polyproline II helix, an extended and solvent-exposed structure with exactly three residues per turn. Because of the three-residue sequence periodicity in the XPZ region, it is expected to be amphipathic and to have distinct nonpolar and polar surfaces. This study identified a proline-rich structure with unique properties that is exposed on the surface of an important human pathogen.
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| 3. |
- Areschoug, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Host-pathogen interactions in Streptococcus pyogenes infections, with special reference to puerperal fever and a comment on vaccine development.
- 2004
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Ingår i: Vaccine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1873-2518 .- 0264-410X. ; 22 Suppl 1:Suppl 1, s. 9-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus) causes a variety of diseases, including acute pharyngitis, impetigo, rheumatic fever and the streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Moreover, S. pyogenes was responsible for the classical example of a nosocomial infection, the epidemics of puerperal fever (childbed fever) that caused the death of numerous women in earlier centuries. The most extensively studied virulence factor of S. pyogenes is the surface M protein, which inhibits phagocytosis and shows antigenic variation. Recent data indicate that many M proteins confer phagocytosis resistance because the variable N-terminal region has non-overlapping sites that specifically bind two components of the human immune system, the complement inhibitor C4b-binding protein (C4BP) and IgA-Fc. Concerning puerperal fever, molecular and epidemiological analysis suggests that the S. pyogenes surface protein R28 may have played a pathogenetic role in these epidemics. This article summarizes the properties of M protein and the R28 protein and considers a potential problem encountered in connection with the use of animal models for vaccine development.
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| 4. |
- Areschoug, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Streptococcal beta protein has separate binding sites for human factor H and IgA-Fc.
- 2002
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - 1083-351X. ; 277:15, s. 12642-12648
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The group B streptococcus (GBS) is the most important cause of life-threatening bacterial infections in newborn infants. Protective immunity to GBS infection is elicited by several surface proteins, one of which, the beta protein, is known to bind human IgA-Fc. Here, we show that the beta protein also binds human factor H (FH), a negative regulator of complement activation. Absorption experiments with whole human plasma demonstrated binding of FH to a GBS strain expressing beta protein, but not to an isogenic beta-negative mutant. This binding was due to a direct interaction between beta and FH, as shown by experiments with purified proteins. Inhibition tests and studies with beta fragments demonstrated that FH and IgA-Fc bind to separate and non-overlapping regions in beta. Heparin, a known ligand for FH, specifically inhibited the binding between beta and FH, suggesting that FH has overlapping binding sites for beta and heparin. Bacteria-bound FH retained its complement regulatory activity, implying that beta-expressing GBS may use bound FH to evade complement attack. The finding that beta protein binds FH adds to a growing list of interactions between human pathogens and complement regulatory proteins, supporting the notion that these interactions are of general importance in bacterial pathogenesis.
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| 5. |
- Berggård, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Binding of human C4BP to the hypervariable region of M protein: a molecular mechanism of phagocytosis resistance in Streptococcus pyogenes
- 2001
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Ingår i: Molecular Microbiology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2958 .- 0950-382X. ; 42:2, s. 539-551
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The amino-terminal hypervariable region (HVR) of streptococcal M protein is required for the ability of this virulence factor to confer phagocytosis resistance. The function of the HVR has remained unknown, but the finding that many HVRs with extremely divergent sequences bind the human complement regulator C4b-binding protein (C4BP) has suggested that this ligand may play a role in phagocytosis resistance. We used the M22 system to study the function of bound C4BP and provide several lines of evidence that C4BP indeed contributes to phagocytosis resistance. First, the ability of anti-HVR antibodies to cause opsonization correlated with their ability to inhibit binding of C4BP. Secondly, a short deletion in the HVR eliminated C4BP binding and also reduced the ability of M22 to confer phagocytosis resistance. Thirdly, the addition of an excess of pure C4BP to a phagocytosis system almost completely blocked the effect of opsonizing anti-HVR antibodies. Together, our data indicate that binding of C4BP to the HVR of M22 plays an important role in phagocytosis resistance, but other properties of M22 also contribute. This study provides the first molecular insight into the mechanisms by which the HVR of an M protein confers phagocytosis resistance.
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| 6. |
- Carlsson, Fredric, et al.
(författare)
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Evasion of phagocytosis through cooperation between two ligand-binding regions in Streptococcus pyogenes M protein.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Journal of Experimental Medicine. - : Rockefeller University Press. - 1540-9538 .- 0022-1007. ; 198:7, s. 1057-1068
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The M protein of Streptococcus pyogenes is a major bacterial virulence factor that confers resistance to phagocytosis. To analyze how M protein allows evasion of phagocytosis, we used the M22 protein, which has features typical of many M proteins and has two well-characterized regions binding human plasma proteins: the hypervariable NH2-terminal region binds C4b-binding protein (C4BP), which inhibits the classical pathway of complement activation; and an adjacent semivariable region binds IgA-Fc. Characterization of chromosomal S. pyogenes mutants demonstrated that each of the ligand-binding regions contributed to phagocytosis resistance, which could be fully explained as cooperation between the two regions. Deposition of complement on S. pyogenes occurred almost exclusively via the classical pathway, even under nonimmune conditions, but was down-regulated by bacteria-bound C4BP, providing an explanation for the ability of bound C4BP to inhibit phagocytosis. Different opsonizing antisera shared the ability to block binding of both C4BP and IgA, suggesting that the two regions in M22 play important roles also under immune conditions, as targets for protective antibodies. These data indicate that M22 and similar M proteins confer resistance to phagocytosis through ability to bind two components of the human immune system.
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| 7. |
- Catton, Erin A., et al.
(författare)
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Human CEACAM1 is targeted by a Streptococcus pyogenes adhesin implicated in puerperal sepsis pathogenesis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - 2041-1723. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Life-threatening bacterial infections in women after childbirth, known as puerperal sepsis, resulted in classical epidemics and remain a global health problem. While outbreaks of puerperal sepsis have been ascribed to Streptococcus pyogenes, little is known about disease mechanisms. Here, we show that the bacterial R28 protein, which is epidemiologically associated with outbreaks of puerperal sepsis, specifically targets the human receptor CEACAM1. This interaction triggers events that would favor the development of puerperal sepsis, including adhesion to cervical cells, suppression of epithelial wound repair and subversion of innate immune responses. High-resolution structural analysis showed that an R28 domain with IgI3-like fold binds to the N-terminal domain of CEACAM1. Together, these findings demonstrate that a single adhesin-receptor interaction can drive the pathogenesis of bacterial sepsis and provide molecular insights into the pathogenesis of one of the most important infectious diseases in medical history.
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| 8. |
- Gustafsson, Mattias C U, et al.
(författare)
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Factor H Binds to the Hypervariable Region of Many Streptococcus pyogenes M Proteins but Does Not Promote Phagocytosis Resistance or Acute Virulence.
- 2013
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Ingår i: PLoS Pathogens. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1553-7366 .- 1553-7374. ; 9:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many pathogens express a surface protein that binds the human complement regulator factor H (FH), as first described for Streptococcus pyogenes and the antiphagocytic M6 protein. It is commonly assumed that FH recruited to an M protein enhances virulence by protecting the bacteria against complement deposition and phagocytosis, but the role of FH-binding in S. pyogenes pathogenesis has remained unclear and controversial. Here, we studied seven purified M proteins for ability to bind FH and found that FH binds to the M5, M6 and M18 proteins but not the M1, M3, M4 and M22 proteins. Extensive immunochemical analysis indicated that FH binds solely to the hypervariable region (HVR) of an M protein, suggesting that selection has favored the ability of certain HVRs to bind FH. These FH-binding HVRs could be studied as isolated polypeptides that retain ability to bind FH, implying that an FH-binding HVR represents a distinct ligand-binding domain. The isolated HVRs specifically interacted with FH among all human serum proteins, interacted with the same region in FH and showed species specificity, but exhibited little or no antigenic cross-reactivity. Although these findings suggested that FH recruited to an M protein promotes virulence, studies in transgenic mice did not demonstrate a role for bound FH during acute infection. Moreover, phagocytosis tests indicated that ability to bind FH is neither sufficient nor necessary for S. pyogenes to resist killing in whole human blood. While these data shed new light on the HVR of M proteins, they suggest that FH-binding may affect S. pyogenes virulence by mechanisms not assessed in currently used model systems.
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| 9. |
- Lannergård, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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Sequence variability is correlated with weak immunogenicity in Streptococcus pyogenes M protein.
- 2015
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Ingår i: MicrobiologyOpen. - : Wiley. - 2045-8827. ; 4:5, s. 774-789
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The M protein of Streptococcus pyogenes, a major bacterial virulence factor, has an amino-terminal hypervariable region (HVR) that is a target for type-specific protective antibodies. Intriguingly, the HVR elicits a weak antibody response, indicating that it escapes host immunity by two mechanisms, sequence variability and weak immunogenicity. However, the properties influencing the immunogenicity of regions in an M protein remain poorly understood. Here, we studied the antibody response to different regions of the classical M1 and M5 proteins, in which not only the HVR but also the adjacent fibrinogen-binding B repeat region exhibits extensive sequence divergence. Analysis of antisera from S. pyogenes-infected patients, infected mice, and immunized mice showed that both the HVR and the B repeat region elicited weak antibody responses, while the conserved carboxy-terminal part was immunodominant. Thus, we identified a correlation between sequence variability and weak immunogenicity for M protein regions. A potential explanation for the weak immunogenicity was provided by the demonstration that protease digestion selectively eliminated the HVR-B part from whole M protein-expressing bacteria. These data support a coherent model, in which the entire variable HVR-B part evades antibody attack, not only by sequence variability but also by weak immunogenicity resulting from protease attack.
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| 10. |
- Lannergård, Jonas, et al.
(författare)
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The Hypervariable Region of Streptococcus pyogenes M Protein Escapes Antibody Attack by Antigenic Variation and Weak Immunogenicity.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Cell Host and Microbe. - : Elsevier BV. - 1934-6069 .- 1931-3128. ; 10:2, s. 147-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sequence variation of antigenic proteins allows pathogens to evade antibody attack. The variable protein commonly includes a hypervariable region (HVR), which represents a key target for antibodies and is therefore predicted to be immunodominant. To understand the mechanism(s) of antibody evasion, we analyzed the clinically important HVR-containing M proteins of the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes. Antibodies elicited by M proteins were directed almost exclusively against the C-terminal part and not against the N-terminal HVR. Similar results were obtained for mice and humans with invasive S. pyogenes infection. Nevertheless, only anti-HVR antibodies protected efficiently against infection, as shown by passive immunizations. The HVR fused to an unrelated protein elicited no antibodies, implying that it is inherently weakly immunogenic. These data indicate that the M protein HVR evades antibody attack not only through antigenic variation but also by weak immunogenicity, a paradoxical observation that may apply to other HVR-containing proteins.
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Lindahl, Gunnar, et al.
(författare)
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Surface Proteins of Streptococcus agalactiae and Related Proteins in Other Bacterial Pathogens.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Clinical Microbiology Reviews. - 0893-8512. ; 18:1, s. 102-102
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus) is the major cause of invasive bacterial disease, including meningitis, in the neonatal period. Although prophylactic measures have contributed to a substantial reduction in the number of infections, development of a vaccine remains an important goal. While much work in this field has focused on the S. agalactiae polysaccharide capsule, which is an important virulence factor that elicits protective immunity, surface proteins have received increasing attention as potential virulence factors and vaccine components. Here, we summarize current knowledge about S. agalactiae surface proteins, with emphasis on proteins that have been characterized immunochemically and/or elicit protective immunity in animal models. These surface proteins have been implicated in interactions with human epithelial cells, binding to extracellular matrix components, and/or evasion of host immunity. Of note, several S. agalactiae surface proteins are related to surface proteins identified in other bacterial pathogens, emphasizing the general interest of the S. agalactiae proteins. Because some S. agalactiae surface proteins elicit protective immunity, they hold promise as components in a vaccine based only on proteins or as carriers in polysaccharide conjugate vaccines.
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| 13. |
- Stålhammar-Carlemalm, Margaretha, et al.
(författare)
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Nonimmunodominant regions are effective as building blocks in a streptococcal fusion protein vaccine.
- 2007
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Ingår i: Cell Host and Microbe. - : Elsevier BV. - 1934-6069 .- 1931-3128. ; 2:6, s. 427-434
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Identification of antigens that elicit protective immunity is essential for effective vaccine development. We investigated the related surface proteins of group B Streptococcus, Rib and alpha, as potential vaccine candidates. Paradoxically, nonimmunodominant regions proved to be of particular interest as vaccine components. Mouse antibodies elicited by Rib and alpha were directed almost exclusively against the C-terminal repeats and not against the N-terminal regions. However, a fusion protein derived from the nonimmunodominant N-terminal regions of Rib and alpha was much more immunogenic than one derived from the repeats and was immunogenic even without adjuvant. Moreover, antibodies to the N-terminal fusion protein protected against infection and inhibited bacterial invasion of epithelial cells. Similarly, the N-terminal region of Streptococcus pyogenes M22 protein, which is targeted by opsonic antibodies, is nonimmunodominant. These data indicate that nonimmunodominant regions of bacterial antigens could be valuable for vaccine development.
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| 14. |
- Stålhammar-Carlemalm, Margaretha, et al.
(författare)
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Protein rib: a novel group B streptococcal cell surface protein that confers protective immunity and is expressed by most strains causing invasive infections
- 1993
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Ingår i: Journal of Experimental Medicine. - 1540-9538. ; 177:6, s. 1593-1603
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The group B Streptococcus, an important cause of invasive infections in the neonate, is classified into four major serotypes (Ia, Ib, II, and III) based on the structure of the polysaccharide capsule. Since the capsule is a known virulence factor, it has been extensively studied, in particular in type III strains, which cause the majority of invasive infections. Two cell surface proteins, alpha and beta, have also been studied in detail since they confer protective immunity, but these proteins are usually not expressed by type III strains. We describe here a cell surface protein, designated protein Rib (resistance to proteases, immunity, group B), that confers protective immunity and is expressed by most strains of type III. Protein Rib was first identified as a distinct 95-kD protein in extracts of a type III strain, and was purified to homogeneity from that strain. Rabbit antiserum to protein Rib was used to demonstrate that it is expressed on the cell surface of 31 out of 33 type III strains, but only on 1 out of 25 strains representing the other three serotypes. Mouse protection tests showed that antiserum to protein Rib protects against lethal infection with three different strains expressing this antigen, including a strain representing a recently identified high virulence type III clone. Protein Rib is immunologically unrelated to the alpha and beta proteins, but shares several features with the alpha protein. Most importantly, the NH2-terminal amino acid sequences of the Rib and alpha proteins are identical at 6 out of 12 positions. In addition, both protein Rib and the alpha protein are relatively resistant to trypsin (and Rib is also resistant to pepsin) and both proteins vary greatly in size between different clinical isolates. Finally, both protein Rib and the alpha protein exhibit a regular ladderlike pattern in immunoblotting experiments, which may reflect a repetitive structure. Taken together, these data suggest that the Rib and alpha proteins are members of a family of proteins with related structure and function. Since protein Rib confers protective immunity, it may be valuable for the development of a protein vaccine against the group B Streptococcus, an encapsulated bacterium.
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| 15. |
- Stålhammar-Carlemalm, Margaretha
(författare)
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Streptococcal protein Rib and related proteins: a family of repetitive surface proteins that elicit protective immunity
- 1999
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- ABSTRACT Streptococci constitute a heterogeneous group of Gram-positive bacteria, divided into different serological groups on the basis of antigenic differences in a cell wall-associated carbohydrate. This thesis describes related surface proteins expressed by bacteria in two of these groups, the group B streptococcus (GBS) and the group A streptococcus (GAS). GBS is an encapsulated bacterium that is the major cause of invasive bacterial infections in the neonatal period. We have identified and purified a novel cell surface protein, Rib, which is expressed by many GBS strains causing invasive infections. Protein Rib confers protective immunity in a mouse model, making it of interest for analysis of pathogenetic mechanisms and for vaccine development. Sequence analysis demonstrated that the sequence of Rib is related to that of a previously described GBS protein, the alpha protein. Both of these proteins have exceptionally long signal peptides and their sequences are extremely repetitive. Although the two proteins show extensive amino acid residue identity they do not cross-react immunologically. Rib and alpha share several properties i.e. size variation between strains and protease resistance, and they show a characteristic laddering pattern when analyzed in Western blots, due to hydrolysis of acid-labile Asp-Pro bonds. These data show that the Rib and alfa proteins are members of a novel family of streptococcal surface proteins with unusual repetitive structure. R28 is a surface protein expressed by some strains of group A streptococci (Streptococcus pyogenes). The R28 protein cross-reacts immunologically with the Rib protein of GBS, and sequence analysis showed that R28 is a member of the same family of repetitive proteins as Rib and alpha. R28 promotes adhesion to human epithelial cells, and has the important property to elicit protective immunity. Interestingly, the R28 and Rib proteins, which are expressed by different bacterial species, confer cross-protection, i.e. immunization with R28 protects against Rib-expressing strains, and vice versa.
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| 16. |
- Waldemarsson, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Functional dissection of Streptococcus pyogenes M5 protein: the hypervariable region is essential for virulence.
- 2009
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 4:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The surface-localized M protein of Streptococcus pyogenes is a major virulence factor that inhibits phagocytosis, as determined ex vivo. Because little is known about the role of M protein in vivo we analyzed the contribution of different M protein regions to virulence, using the fibrinogen (Fg)-binding M5 protein and a mouse model of acute invasive infection. This model was suitable, because M5 is required for mouse virulence and binds mouse and human Fg equally well, as shown here. Mixed infection experiments with wild type bacteria demonstrated that mutants lacking the N-terminal hypervariable region (HVR) or the Fg-binding B-repeat region were strongly attenuated, while a mutant lacking the conserved C-repeats was only slightly attenuated. Because the HVR of M5 is not required for phagocytosis resistance, our data imply that this HVR plays a major but unknown role during acute infection. The B-repeat region is required for phagocytosis resistance and specifically binds Fg, suggesting that it promotes virulence by binding Fg. However, B-repeat mutants were attenuated even in Fg-deficient mice, implying that the B-repeats may have a second function, in addition to Fg-binding. These data demonstrate that two distinct M5 regions, including the HVR, are essential to virulence during the early stages of an infection. In particular, our data provide the first in vivo evidence that the HVR of an M protein plays a major role in virulence, focusing interest on the molecular role of this region.
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