title: Identification of B- and T-cell epitopes within the fibronectin-binding domain of the SfbI protein of Streptococcus pyogenes.
abstract: The fibronectin-binding repeats of the SfbI protein of Streptococcus pyogenes constitute the minimal domain able to confer protection against lethal infection. We investigated the presence of B- and T-cell epitopes within this region in congenic mice. One linear B-cell epitope was recognized by BALB/b and BALB/k mice, whereas two epitopes were found in BALB/c animals. A unique T-cell epitope was recognized by all three mouse strains. All identified epitopes clustered in a 30-amino-acid fragment. These results suggest that this polypeptide may be suitable for incorporation into a polyepitope-based vaccine formulation against S. pyogenes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Vaccine Research, Division of Microbiology, GBF-German Research Centre for Biotechnology, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schulze
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Gursharan S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Chhatwal
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Guzmán
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000378:metabolism*; D007114:Immunization; D015151:Immunoblotting; D051379:Mice; D020297:Mice, Congenic; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000517:prevention & control; D022541:Streptococcal Vaccines; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D005353:Fibronectins; D010455:Peptides; D022541:Streptococcal Vaccines; C078635:fibronectin-binding proteins, bacterial