title: Heterogeneity of a Campylobacter jejuni protein that is secreted through the flagellar filament.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Enteric Diseases Department, Naval Medical Research Center, 503 Robert Grant Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poly
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ewing
authors.forename: Scarlett
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goon
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Hickey
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rockabrand
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Majam
authors.forename: Lanfong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Phan
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Savarino
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guerry
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors