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T-cell stimulating protein A (TspA) of Neisseria meningitidis is required for optimal adhesion to human cells

Oldfield, Neil J.; Bland, Sarah J.; Taraktsoglou, Maria; Dos Ramos, Francisco J.; Robinson, Karen; Wooldridge, Karl G.; Ala'Aldeen, Dlawer A.A.

Authors

Sarah J. Bland

Maria Taraktsoglou

Francisco J. Dos Ramos

Dlawer A.A. Ala'Aldeen



Abstract

T-cell stimulating protein A (TspA) is an immunogenic, T-cell and B-cell stimulating protein of Neisseria meningitidis. Sequence similarity between TspA and FimV, a Pseudomonas aeruginosa protein involved in twitching motility, suggested a link between TspA and type IV pili (Tfp). To determine the role of TspA an isogenic deletion mutant was created. Loss of TspA did not affect twitching motility or piliation indicating that there are functional differences between TspA and FimV. Mutation of tspA led to a significant reduction in adhesion of meningococci to meningothelial and HEp-2 cells, which was not due to a lack of transcription of adjacent genes or pilC1. Other Tfp-mediated phenotypes (i.e. auto-aggregation and transformation competence) were not altered. Our results indicate that the role of TspA in adhesion is unlikely to be directly linked to the function of Tfp. TspA was expressed by all N.meningitidis and Neisseria polysaccharea strains examined but not by Neisseria gonorrhoeae or Neisseria lactamica, although sequences with homology to tspA were present in their genomes. In summary, TspA is a highly conserved antigen that is required for optimal adhesion of meningococci to human cells. © 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Citation

Oldfield, N. J., Bland, S. J., Taraktsoglou, M., Dos Ramos, F. J., Robinson, K., Wooldridge, K. G., & Ala'Aldeen, D. A. (2007). T-cell stimulating protein A (TspA) of Neisseria meningitidis is required for optimal adhesion to human cells. Cellular Microbiology, 9(2), 463-478. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-5822.2006.00803.x

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 11, 2007
Online Publication Date Sep 11, 2006
Publication Date 2007-02
Deposit Date Aug 2, 2022
Journal Cellular Microbiology
Print ISSN 1462-5814
Electronic ISSN 1462-5822
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Issue 2
Pages 463-478
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-5822.2006.00803.x
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3129935
Publisher URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1462-5822.2006.00803.x