This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mei, Q.
Right arrow Articles by Kovacs, J. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Mei, Q.
Right arrow Articles by Kovacs, J. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, September 1998, p. 4268-4273, Vol. 66, No. 9
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Major Surface Glycoprotein Genes of Human Pneumocystis carinii and High-Level Expression of a Conserved Region

Qin Mei,dagger Ross E. Turner, Vivian Sorial, Diane Klivington, C. William Angus, and Joseph A. Kovacs*

Critical Care Medicine Department, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

Received 12 March 1998/Returned for modification 7 May 1998/Accepted 23 June 1998

To facilitate studies of Pneumocystis carinii infection in humans, we undertook to better characterize and to express the major surface glycoprotein (MSG) of human P. carinii, an important protein in host-pathogen interactions. Seven MSG genes were cloned from a single isolate by PCR or genomic library screening and were sequenced. The predicted proteins, like rat MSGs, were closely related but unique variants, with a high level of conservation among cysteine residues. A conserved immunodominant region (of approximately 100 amino acids) near the carboxy terminus was expressed at high levels in Escherichia coli and used in Western blot studies. All 49 of the serum samples, which were taken from healthy controls as well as from patients with and without P. carinii pneumonia, were reactive with this peptide by Western blotting, supporting the hypothesis that most adult humans have been infected with P. carinii at some point. This recombinant MSG fragment, which is the first human P. carinii antigen available in large quantities, may be a useful reagent for investigating the epidemiology of P. carinii infection in humans.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Building 10, Room 7D43, 10 Center Dr., MSC 1662, Bethesda, MD 20892-1662. Phone: (301) 496-9907. Fax: (301) 402-1213. E-mail: jkovacs{at}nih.gov.

dagger Present address: Merck Research Laboratories, Dept. of Drug Metabolism, West Point, PA 19486-0004.

Infection and Immunity, September 1998, p. 4268-4273, Vol. 66, No. 9
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Daly, K. R., Koch, J. V., Shire, N. J., Levin, L., Walzer, P. D. (2006). Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Patients with Prior Pneumocystis Pneumonia Exhibit Increased Serologic Reactivity to Several Major Surface Glycoprotein Clones. CVI 13: 1071-1078 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Schaffzin, J. K., Stringer, J. R. (2004). Expression of the Pneumocystis carinii major surface glycoprotein epitope is correlated with linkage of the cognate gene to the upstream conserved sequence locus. Microbiology 150: 677-686 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gilmartin, G. S., Koziel, H. (2002). Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia in Adult Non-HIV Disorders. J Intensive Care Med 17: 283-301 [Abstract]  
  • Vargas, S. L., A. Ponce, C., Gigliotti, F., Ulloa, A. V., Prieto, S., Muñoz, M. P., Hughes, W. T. (2000). Transmission of Pneumocystis carinii DNA from a Patient with P. carinii Pneumonia to Immunocompetent Contact Health Care Workers. J. Clin. Microbiol. 38: 1536-1538 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Walzer, P. D. (1999). Immunological Features of Pneumocystis carinii Infection in Humans. CVI 6: 149-155 [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»