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Infect Immun, August 1998, p. 3626-3634, Vol. 66, No. 8
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Site-Directed Mutagenesis of the 19-Kilodalton Lipoprotein
Antigen Reveals No Essential Role for the Protein in the Growth and
Virulence of Mycobacterium intracellulare
Eshwar
Mahenthiralingam,1 2 3
Britt-Inger
Marklund,4
Lucy A.
Brooks,1 2 3
Debbie A.
Smith,5
Gregory J.
Bancroft,5 and
Richard
W.
Stokes1 2 3 6 *
Division of Infectious and Immunological
Diseases, B.C. Children's Hospital,1
Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network,2
and Departments of
Paediatrics3 and
Pathology,6 University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;
Department of Microbiology, Umeå
University, Umeå, Sweden4; and
Immunology Unit, Department of Infectious and Tropical
Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London,
United Kingdom5
Received 7 November 1997/Returned for modification 31 March
1998/Accepted 11 May 1998
The mycobacterial 19-kilodalton antigen (19Ag) is a highly
expressed, surface-associated glycolipoprotein which is immunodominant in infected patients and has little homology with other known proteins.
To investigate the pathogenic significance of the 19Ag, site-directed
mutagenesis of the Mycobacterium intracellulare 19Ag gene
was carried out by using a suicide vector-based strategy. Allelic
replacement of the 19Ag gene of a mouse-avirulent M. intracellulare strain, 1403, was achieved by double-crossover homologous recombination with a gentamicin resistance gene-mutated allele. Unfortunately, an
isogenic 19Ag was not achievable in the mouse-virulent strain, D673.
However, a 19Ag mutant was successfully constructed in M. intracellulare FM1, a chemically mutagenized derivative of strain D673. FM1 was more amenable to genetic manipulation and susceptible to
site-directed mutagenesis of the 19Ag gene yet retained the virulent phenotype of the parental strain. No deleterious effects of
19Ag gene mutation were observed during in vitro growth of M. intracellulare. Virulence assessment of the isogenic
19Ag mutants in a mouse infection model demonstrated that the antigen
plays no essential role in the growth of M. intracellulare
in vivo. Site-directed mutagenesis of the 19Ag gene demonstrated
that it plays no essential role in growth and pathogenicity of M. intracellulare; however, the exact nature of its biological
function remains unknown.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Div. of
Infectious and Immunological Diseases, Dept. of Paediatrics, Univ. of
British Columbia, Rm. 304, The Research Institute, 950 West 28th Ave., Vancouver, B.C., Canada V5Z 4H4. Phone: (604) 875-2466. Fax: (604) 875-2226. E-mail: rstokes{at}cbdn.ca.
Infect Immun, August 1998, p. 3626-3634, Vol. 66, No. 8
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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