Prevalence of a streptococcal inhibitor of a complement-mediated cell lysis-like gene (sicG) in Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis.
Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis isolates (n = 110) were analyzed by PCR to determine whether the gene encoding SICG, a homolog of Streptococcus pyogenes SIC, was present. Nineteen strains (17%) had this gene of which 11 (55%) were isolated from patients with invasive disease. All 19 strains possessed group G carbohydrate. Molecular characterization of emm type revealed that the majority of emm sequences were stG643 and stG2078. Only the N-terminal sequence of SICG was similar to that of SIC in S. pyogenes. Although we found no significant relationship between pathogenic severity and sicG possession, further investigation into the mechanism of SICG may elucidate the virulence in S. dysgalactiae subsp. equisimilis infection.
Department of Bacteriology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1 Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan.
Masaaki
M
Minami
Mariko
M
Ichikawa
Hideyuki
H
Matsui
Nanako
N
Hata
Naoki
N
Wakiyama
Masakado
M
Matsumoto
Michio
M
Ohta
Tadao
T
Hasegawa
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000235:genetics*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C097739:SIC protein, Streptococcus; D037521:Virulence Factors; C014689:streptococcal M protein