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Infection and Immunity, December 2003, p. 7197-7201, Vol. 71, No. 12
0019-9567/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.71.12.7197-7201.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification of B- and T-Cell Epitopes within the Fibronectin-Binding Domain of the SfbI Protein of Streptococcus pyogenes

Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Vaccine Research, Division of Microbiology, GBF-German Research Centre for Biotechnology, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany

Received 30 May 2003/ Returned for modification 23 July 2003/ Accepted 27 August 2003

The fibronectin-binding repeats of the SfbI protein of Streptococcus pyogenes constitute the minimal domain able to confer protection against lethal infection. We investigated the presence of B- and T-cell epitopes within this region in congenic mice. One linear B-cell epitope was recognized by BALB/b and BALB/k mice, whereas two epitopes were found in BALB/c animals. A unique T-cell epitope was recognized by all three mouse strains. All identified epitopes clustered in a 30-amino-acid fragment. These results suggest that this polypeptide may be suitable for incorporation into a polyepitope-based vaccine formulation against S. pyogenes.