title: Molecular characterization of the pL40 protein in Leptospira interrogans.
abstract: Leptospirosis is a widespread zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic leptospires. The identification of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) conserved among pathogenic leptospires, which are exposed on the leptospiral surface and expressed during mammalian infection, has become a major focus of leptospirosis research. pL40, a 40 kDa protein coded by the LA3744 gene in Leptospira interrogans, was found to be unique to Leptospira. Triton X-114 fractionation and flow cytometry analyses indicate that pL40 is a component of the leptospiral outer membrane. The conservation of pL40 among Leptospira strains prevalent in China was confirmed by both Western blotting and PCR screening. Furthermore, the pL40 antigen could be recognized by sera from guinea pigs and mice infected with low-passage L. interrogans. These findings indicate that pL40 may serve as a useful serodiagnostic antigen and vaccine candidate for L. interrogans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Institutes of Medical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Chun-Yan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiang-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Wei-Qiang
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Bao-Yu
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Guo-Ping
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Jin-Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Xiao-Kui
authors.initials: XK
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007919:Leptospira / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D007921:Leptospira interrogans / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D021381:Protein Transport; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins