Prominent Binding of Human and Equine Fibrinogen to Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus Is Mediated by Specific SzM Types and Is a Distinct Phenotype of Zoonotic Isolates
(2020) In Infection and Immunity 88(1).- Abstract
Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus is an important pathogen in horses that causes severe diseases such as pneumonia and abortion. Furthermore, it is a zoonotic agent, and contact with horses is a known risk factor. In this study, we investigated the working hypothesis that the zoonotic potential varies among S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains in association with differences in M-like protein-mediated binding of host plasma proteins. We demonstrate via in-frame deletion mutagenesis of two different S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains that the M-like protein SzM is crucial for the binding of fibrinogen to the bacterial surface and for survival in equine and human blood. S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates of equine and human... (More)
Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus is an important pathogen in horses that causes severe diseases such as pneumonia and abortion. Furthermore, it is a zoonotic agent, and contact with horses is a known risk factor. In this study, we investigated the working hypothesis that the zoonotic potential varies among S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains in association with differences in M-like protein-mediated binding of host plasma proteins. We demonstrate via in-frame deletion mutagenesis of two different S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains that the M-like protein SzM is crucial for the binding of fibrinogen to the bacterial surface and for survival in equine and human blood. S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates of equine and human origins were compared with regard to SzM sequences and binding of equine and human fibrinogens. The N-terminal 216 amino acids of the mature SzM were found to exhibit a high degree of diversity, but the majority of human isolates grouped in three distinct SzM clusters. Plasma protein absorption assays and flow cytometry analysis revealed that pronounced binding of human fibrinogen is a common phenotype of human S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates but much less so in equine S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates. Furthermore, binding of human fibrinogen is associated with specific SzM types. These results suggest that SzM-mediated binding of human fibrinogen is an important virulence mechanism of zoonotic S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates.
(Less)
- author
- Bergmann, René ; Jentsch, Maria Christin ; Uhlig, Albrecht ; Müller, Uwe ; van der Linden, Mark ; Rasmussen, Magnus LU ; Waller, Andrew ; von Köckritz-Blickwede, Maren and Baums, Christoph Georg
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- fibrinogen binding, M-like proteins, survival in blood, szm deletion mutant, whole-blood bactericidal assay, zoonosis
- in
- Infection and Immunity
- volume
- 88
- issue
- 1
- article number
- e00559-19
- publisher
- American Society for Microbiology
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:31636136
- scopus:85076876515
- ISSN
- 1098-5522
- DOI
- 10.1128/IAI.00559-19
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 65a2e463-b04b-4282-9940-c4c9c735dd9d
- date added to LUP
- 2020-01-03 12:40:31
- date last changed
- 2024-10-02 19:03:29
@article{65a2e463-b04b-4282-9940-c4c9c735dd9d, abstract = {{<p>Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus is an important pathogen in horses that causes severe diseases such as pneumonia and abortion. Furthermore, it is a zoonotic agent, and contact with horses is a known risk factor. In this study, we investigated the working hypothesis that the zoonotic potential varies among S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains in association with differences in M-like protein-mediated binding of host plasma proteins. We demonstrate via in-frame deletion mutagenesis of two different S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus strains that the M-like protein SzM is crucial for the binding of fibrinogen to the bacterial surface and for survival in equine and human blood. S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates of equine and human origins were compared with regard to SzM sequences and binding of equine and human fibrinogens. The N-terminal 216 amino acids of the mature SzM were found to exhibit a high degree of diversity, but the majority of human isolates grouped in three distinct SzM clusters. Plasma protein absorption assays and flow cytometry analysis revealed that pronounced binding of human fibrinogen is a common phenotype of human S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates but much less so in equine S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates. Furthermore, binding of human fibrinogen is associated with specific SzM types. These results suggest that SzM-mediated binding of human fibrinogen is an important virulence mechanism of zoonotic S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus isolates.</p>}}, author = {{Bergmann, René and Jentsch, Maria Christin and Uhlig, Albrecht and Müller, Uwe and van der Linden, Mark and Rasmussen, Magnus and Waller, Andrew and von Köckritz-Blickwede, Maren and Baums, Christoph Georg}}, issn = {{1098-5522}}, keywords = {{fibrinogen binding; M-like proteins; survival in blood; szm deletion mutant; whole-blood bactericidal assay; zoonosis}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{1}}, publisher = {{American Society for Microbiology}}, series = {{Infection and Immunity}}, title = {{Prominent Binding of Human and Equine Fibrinogen to Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus Is Mediated by Specific SzM Types and Is a Distinct Phenotype of Zoonotic Isolates}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00559-19}}, doi = {{10.1128/IAI.00559-19}}, volume = {{88}}, year = {{2020}}, }