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A homopolymeric adenosine tract in the promoter region of nspA influences factor H-mediated serum resistance in Neisseria meningitidis

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200956
  • Although usually asymptomatically colonizing the human nasopharynx, the Gram-negative bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) can spread to the blood stream and cause invasive disease. For survival in blood, N. meningitidis evades the complement system by expression of a polysaccharide capsule and surface proteins sequestering the complement regulator factor H (fH). Meningococcal strains belonging to the sequence type (ST-) 41/44 clonal complex (cc41/44) cause a major proportion of serogroup B meningococcal disease worldwide, but theyAlthough usually asymptomatically colonizing the human nasopharynx, the Gram-negative bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) can spread to the blood stream and cause invasive disease. For survival in blood, N. meningitidis evades the complement system by expression of a polysaccharide capsule and surface proteins sequestering the complement regulator factor H (fH). Meningococcal strains belonging to the sequence type (ST-) 41/44 clonal complex (cc41/44) cause a major proportion of serogroup B meningococcal disease worldwide, but they are also common in asymptomatic carriers. Proteome analysis comparing cc41/44 isolates from invasive disease versus carriage revealed differential expression levels of the outer membrane protein NspA, which binds fH. Deletion of nspA reduced serum resistance and NspA expression correlated with fH sequestration. Expression levels of NspA depended on the length of a homopolymeric tract in the nspA promoter: A 5-adenosine tract dictated low NspA expression, whereas a 6-adenosine motif guided high NspA expression. Screening German cc41/44 strain collections revealed the 6-adenosine motif in 39% of disease isolates, but only in 3.4% of carriage isolates. Thus, high NspA expression is associated with disease, but not strictly required. The 6-adenosine nspA promoter is most common to the cc41/44, but is also found in other hypervirulent clonal complexes.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Heike Claus, Kerstin Hubert, Dörte Becher, Andreas Otto, Marie-Christin Pawlik, Ines Lappann, Lea Strobel, Ulrich Vogel, Kay Johswich
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200956
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Medizinische Fakultät / Institut für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie
Language:English
Parent Title (English):Scientific Reports
Year of Completion:2019
Volume:9
Pagenumber:2736
Source:Scientific Reports (2019) 9:2736. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39231-0
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39231-0
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Tag:Meningitis; Pathogens
Release Date:2020/05/08
Collections:Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2019
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International