Distribution of pilus islands in Streptococcus agalactiae that cause human infections: insights into evolution and implication for vaccine development

E R Martins; A Andreu; J Melo-Cristino; M Ramirez

doi:10.1128/CVI.00529-12

Distribution of pilus islands in Streptococcus agalactiae that cause human infections: insights into evolution and implication for vaccine development

Clin Vaccine Immunol. 2013 Feb;20(2):313-6. doi: 10.1128/CVI.00529-12. Epub 2012 Dec 26.

Authors

E R Martins¹, A Andreu, J Melo-Cristino, M Ramirez

Affiliation

¹ Instituto de Microbiologia, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal.

Abstract

At least one pilus island, PI-1 (70%), PI-2a (79%), or PI-2b (21%), was found among 898 Streptococcus agalactiae (group B streptococcus [GBS]) isolates recovered from humans, supporting the use of pilus proteins in vaccines. The stability and dominance of PI-1 and PI-2a in multiple serotypes and founder multilocus sequence types disseminated worldwide suggest it could be the PI combination present in ancestral GBS human pathogens.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacterial Proteins / immunology
Female
Fimbriae, Bacterial / immunology*
Humans
Male
Pregnancy
Serotyping
Streptococcal Infections / immunology*
Streptococcal Vaccines*
Streptococcus agalactiae / classification
Streptococcus agalactiae / immunology*
Streptococcus agalactiae / isolation & purification

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
Streptococcal Vaccines