Abstract
Group B protective surface protein (BPS) is expressed on the cell surface of some group B streptococcal (GBS) (Streptococcus agalactiae) strains and adds to the identification by capsular polysaccharide (CPS), and c or R proteins. We investigated the prevalence of BPS among GBS clinical isolates (303 invasive, 4122 colonizing) collected over 11 years in four American cities. Hot HCl cell extracts were tested by immunoprecipitation in agarose with rabbit antisera to BPS; the alpha (α) and beta (β) components of c protein; R1, R3, and R4 species of R protein; and CPS serotypes Ia–VIII. BPS was found in 155 isolates (seven invasive, 148 colonizing). Of these, 87 were Ia, 37 II, 20 V; none were III. BPS was expressed usually with another protein: a species of R by 87 or a component of c by 39. The predominant CPS/protein profiles with BPS were Ia/R1, BPS and II/c(α + β), BPS. Thus, along with CPS serotype and other surface proteins, BPS can be a valuable marker for precise strain characterization of unique GBS clinical isolates with complex surface protein profiles.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 894-898 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Current Microbiology |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by contracts N01-AI-125152, N01-AI-75326 and N01-AI-25495 from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.