Incremental Contributions of FbaA and Other Impetigo-Associated Surface Proteins to Fitness and Virulence of a Classical Group A Streptococcal Skin Strain.

ABSTRACT: Group A streptococci (GAS) are highly prevalent human pathogens whose primary ecological niche is the superficial epithelial layers of the throat and/or skin. Many GAS strains with a strong tendency to cause pharyngitis are distinct from strains that tend to cause impetigo; thus, genetic differences between them may confer host tissue-specific virulence. In this study, the FbaA surface protein gene was found to be present in most skin specialist strains but largely absent from a genetically related subset of pharyngitis isolates. In an ΔfbaA mutant constructed in the impetigo strain Alab49, loss of FbaA resulted in a slight but significant decrease in GAS fitness in a humanized mouse model of impetigo; the ΔfbaA mutant also exhibited decreased survival in whole human blood due to phagocyto

SUBMITTER: Rouchon CN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5649008 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature