Inhibition of competence development, horizontal gene transfer and virulence in Streptococcus pneumoniae by a modified competence stimulating peptide.

ABSTRACT: Competence stimulating peptide (CSP) is a 17-amino acid peptide pheromone secreted by Streptococcus pneumoniae. Upon binding of CSP to its membrane-associated receptor kinase ComD, a cascade of signaling events is initiated, leading to activation of the competence regulon by the response regulator ComE. Genes encoding proteins that are involved in DNA uptake and transformation, as well as virulence, are upregulated. Previous studies have shown that disruption of key components in the competence regulon inhibits DNA transformation and attenuates virulence. Thus, synthetic analogues that competitively inhibit CSPs may serve as attractive drugs to control pneumococcal infection and to reduce horizontal gene transfer during infection. We performed amino acid substitutions on conserved amino ac

SUBMITTER: Zhu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3164649 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature