title: Leptospiral TlyC is an extracellular matrix-binding protein and does not present hemolysin activity.
abstract: The role of TlyA, TlyB and TlyC proteins in the biology of Leptospira is still uncertain. Although these proteins have been considered as putative hemolysins, we demonstrate that leptospiral recombinant TlyB and TlyC do not possess hemolytic activity. However, further experiments showed that TlyC is a surface-exposed protein that seems to bind to laminin, collagen IV and fibronectin. The expression of both proteins was detected both in vitro and in vivo. Our findings suggest that TlyB and TlyC are not directly involved in hemolysis, and that TlyC may contribute to Leptospira binding to extracellular matrix (ECM) during host infection.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biotecnologia, Instituto Butantan, 05503-900 São Paulo - SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eneas
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Angela S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.forename: Ricardo M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: Aurora M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cianciarullo
authors.forename: Pricila
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hauk
authors.forename: Patrícia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.forename: Leonardo C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Fiorini
authors.forename: Maria L S
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Eliete C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Amane P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Gonçales
authors.forename: Zenaide M
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Morais
authors.forename: Sílvio A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Vasconcellos
authors.forename: Paulo L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Ho