Heterogeneity of a Campylobacter jejuni protein that is secreted through the flagellar filament.
Cj0859c, or FspA, is a small, acidic protein of Campylobacter jejuni that is expressed by a sigma(28) promoter. Analysis of the fspA gene in 41 isolates of C. jejuni revealed two overall variants of the predicted protein, FspA1 and FspA2. Secretion of FspA occurs in broth-grown bacteria and requires a minimum flagellar structure. The addition of recombinant FspA2, but not FspA1, to INT407 cells in vitro resulted in a rapid induction of apoptosis. These data define a novel C. jejuni virulence factor, and the observed heterogeneity among fspA alleles suggests alternate virulence potential among different strains.
Poly
Frédéric
F
Enteric Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
Ewing
Cheryl
C
Goon
Scarlett
S
Hickey
Thomas E
TE
Rockabrand
David
D
Majam
Gary
G
Lee
Lanfong
L
Phan
Julie
J
Savarino
Nicholas J
NJ
Guerry
Patricia
P
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017209:Apoptosis; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005407:Flagella / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors