The phospholipase A of Neisseria gonorrhoeae lyses eukaryotic membranes and is necessary for survival in neutrophils and cervical epithelial cells.

ABSTRACT: Contact-dependent hemolysins are virulence factors in a number of human pathogens, including Helicobacter pylori, Rickettsia typhi, Bartonella bacilliformis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, entero-invasive Escherichia coli, and Shigella. Here we demonstrate that Neisseria gonorrhoeae produces an outer membrane protein, phospholipase A, that exhibits contact-dependent lytic activity on host cell membranes. This enzyme can lyse human erythrocytes over a 3-day period, whereas a phospholipase A mutant cannot. We demonstrated phospholipase A activity in the parent strain but not in two, independent phospholipase A mutants. A gene for phospholipase A, pldA (hereafter referred to as pla to avoid confusion with the gene for phospholipase D, pld), is pre

SUBMITTER: Apicella MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11481481 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature