Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Infection and Immunity, April 1999, p. 1708-1714, Vol. 67, No. 4
Section for Molecular Pathogenesis,
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Lund University, Lund,
Sweden
Received 19 June 1998/Returned for modification 26 August
1998/Accepted 17 December 1998
Surface-associated M protein is a major virulence factor in
Streptococcus pyogenes which confers bacterial
resistance to phagocytosis. However, many S. pyogenes strains also express additional structurally related so-called M-like proteins. The strain
studied here is of the clinically important M1 serotype and expresses
two structurally related surface proteins, the M1 protein and
protein H. Mutants were generated that expressed only one or none of
these proteins at the bacterial surface. For survival in human blood
either protein H or M1 protein was sufficient, whereas the double
mutant was rapidly killed. The protein-binding properties of protein H,
M1 protein, and the mutants suggest that bacterial binding of
immunoglobulin G and factor H or factor H-like protein 1, which are
regulatory proteins in the complement system, contribute to the
antiphagocytic property.
0019-9567/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Protein H, an Antiphagocytic Surface Protein in
Streptococcus pyogenes
*
Corresponding author. Present address: Department of
Cell and Molecular Biology, Umeå University, S-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
Phone: 46-90-7852689. Fax: 46-90-771420. E-mail:
Britt-Marie.Kihlberg{at}cmb.umu.se.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| J. Bacteriol. | J. Virol. | Eukaryot. Cell |
|---|
| Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. | Clin. Vaccine Immunol. | All ASM Journals |
|---|