LapB, a novel Listeria monocytogenes LPXTG surface adhesin, required for entry into eukaryotic cells and virulence.
Attachment to mucosal surfaces is the initial event in the pathogenesis of the human foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. By use of comparative genomics, we identified a L. monocytogenes-specific gene, lapB, that encodes an LPXTG surface protein that is absent from nonpathogenic Listeria species. We showed that lapB expression is positively regulated by PrfA, the major transcriptional activator of the virulence genes of Listeria species, and is up-regulated in mouse spleens during infection. We demonstrated that LapB is an SrtA-anchored surface protein required for adhesion to and entry into mammalian cells and for virulence following intravenous or oral inoculation in mice. Our results highlight LapB as a new L. monocytogenes virulence adhesin with a function that is supported by its unique N-terminal domain through the probable interaction with a cellular receptor.
Reis
Olga
O
Group of Molecular Microbiology, Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Sousa
Sandra
S
Camejo
Ana
A
Villiers
Véronique
V
Gouin
Edith
E
Cossart
Pascale
P
Cabanes
Didier
D
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002460:Cell Line; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D019295:Computational Biology; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000382:microbiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010454:Peptide Termination Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010454:Peptide Termination Factors; C545356:PrfA protein, Listeria monocytogenes; D037521:Virulence Factors