Group a <i>Streptococcus</i> remains viable inside fibrin clots and gains access to human plasminogen for subsequent fibrinolysis and dissemination.

ABSTRACT: Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a major human pathogen that causes several invasive diseases including necrotizing fasciitis. The host coagulation cascade initiates fibrin clots to sequester bacteria to prevent dissemination into deeper tissues. GAS, especially skin-tropic bacterial strains, utilize specific virulence factors, plasminogen binding M-protein (PAM) and streptokinase (SK), to manipulate hemostasis and activate plasminogen to cause fibrinolysis and fibrin clot escape. A major unresolved question regards the temporal dynamics of how GAS enmeshed in a fibrin clot can access plasminogen for clot dissolution and eventual dissemination. Here, we reveal through live imaging studies that GAS trapped inside a fibrin clot can remain viable in a latent state, until access to plasmi

SUBMITTER: Vu HM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11792473 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature