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Influence of the Polysaccharide Capsule on the Bactericidal Activity of Indolicidin on Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Waz, Natalha T ; Oliveira, Sheila ; Girardello, Raquel ; Lincopan, Nilton ; Barazzone, Giovana ; Parisotto, Thais ; Hakansson, Anders P LU orcid ; Converso, Thiago Rojas LU and Darrieux, Michelle LU (2022) In Frontiers in Microbiology 13. p.1-10
Abstract


Streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogen responsible for high morbidity and mortality worldwide. The polysaccharide capsule confers protection against phagocytosis and influences many aspects of pneumococcal pathogenesis. The capsular polysaccharides (CPS) are highly immunogenic and exhibit great structural variability, with more than 100 serotypes described so far. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an important part of the innate defense mechanisms against many pathogens. Indolicidin is a cationic AMP produced by bovine neutrophils, with bactericidal effects against several bacteria. CPS has been shown to interfere with the ability of AMPs to kill pneumococci, but the effects of capsule variability on susceptibility to indolicidin... (More)


Streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogen responsible for high morbidity and mortality worldwide. The polysaccharide capsule confers protection against phagocytosis and influences many aspects of pneumococcal pathogenesis. The capsular polysaccharides (CPS) are highly immunogenic and exhibit great structural variability, with more than 100 serotypes described so far. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an important part of the innate defense mechanisms against many pathogens. Indolicidin is a cationic AMP produced by bovine neutrophils, with bactericidal effects against several bacteria. CPS has been shown to interfere with the ability of AMPs to kill pneumococci, but the effects of capsule variability on susceptibility to indolicidin have not been explored. The present work determined the effects of capsule on resistance to indolicidin
in vitro. Using a bactericidal plate assay, we observed that different pneumococcal serotypes exhibited variable resistance to indolicidin, which correlated with the capsule net charge. Interestingly, the effect of capsule expression on resistance to indolicidin was dependent on the serotype; bacteria with lower zeta potential were more resistant to indolicidin when capsule was present, while those with less negative surface charge were more resistant in the absence of capsule. The addition of purified CPS partially rescued the bacteria from the bactericidal effects of indolicidin, while the addition of anticapsular antibodies accentuated the peptide's bactericidal action, suggesting a possible new protective mechanism induced by polysaccharide-based pneumococcal vaccines.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Frontiers in Microbiology
volume
13
article number
898815
pages
1 - 10
publisher
Frontiers Media S. A.
external identifiers
  • scopus:85131327454
  • pmid:35633685
ISSN
1664-302X
DOI
10.3389/fmicb.2022.898815
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Copyright © 2022 Waz, Oliveira, Girardello, Lincopan, Barazzone, Parisotto, Hakansson, Converso and Darrieux.
id
c539aeb7-5424-4b27-8cc7-e7082c2e6cb0
date added to LUP
2022-06-09 16:17:42
date last changed
2024-04-29 10:57:18
@article{c539aeb7-5424-4b27-8cc7-e7082c2e6cb0,
  abstract     = {{<p><br>
 Streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogen responsible for high morbidity and mortality worldwide. The polysaccharide capsule confers protection against phagocytosis and influences many aspects of pneumococcal pathogenesis. The capsular polysaccharides (CPS) are highly immunogenic and exhibit great structural variability, with more than 100 serotypes described so far. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an important part of the innate defense mechanisms against many pathogens. Indolicidin is a cationic AMP produced by bovine neutrophils, with bactericidal effects against several bacteria. CPS has been shown to interfere with the ability of AMPs to kill pneumococci, but the effects of capsule variability on susceptibility to indolicidin have not been explored. The present work determined the effects of capsule on resistance to indolicidin <br>
 in vitro. Using a bactericidal plate assay, we observed that different pneumococcal serotypes exhibited variable resistance to indolicidin, which correlated with the capsule net charge. Interestingly, the effect of capsule expression on resistance to indolicidin was dependent on the serotype; bacteria with lower zeta potential were more resistant to indolicidin when capsule was present, while those with less negative surface charge were more resistant in the absence of capsule. The addition of purified CPS partially rescued the bacteria from the bactericidal effects of indolicidin, while the addition of anticapsular antibodies accentuated the peptide's bactericidal action, suggesting a possible new protective mechanism induced by polysaccharide-based pneumococcal vaccines.<br>
 </p>}},
  author       = {{Waz, Natalha T and Oliveira, Sheila and Girardello, Raquel and Lincopan, Nilton and Barazzone, Giovana and Parisotto, Thais and Hakansson, Anders P and Converso, Thiago Rojas and Darrieux, Michelle}},
  issn         = {{1664-302X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  pages        = {{1--10}},
  publisher    = {{Frontiers Media S. A.}},
  series       = {{Frontiers in Microbiology}},
  title        = {{Influence of the Polysaccharide Capsule on the Bactericidal Activity of Indolicidin on Streptococcus pneumoniae.}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.898815}},
  doi          = {{10.3389/fmicb.2022.898815}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}