title: Virulence factors of Streptococcus pyogenes strains from women in peri-labor with invasive infections.
abstract: Invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) infections constitute an important epidemiological problem. Many cases occur in women during the postnatal period. The objective of this study was to evaluate the presence of the genes responsible for production of iron-chelating protein (perR) and superantigens (speA, speB, speC, speF, speG, speH, speI, speJ, speK, speL, speM, smeZ, and ssa) in S. pyogenes strains isolated from invasive infections in women after delivery. Furthermore, this study sought to verify whether S. pyogenes strains show special phenotypic and genotypic (sla, spy1325) characteristics that may play a decisive role in adherence to the genital tract epithelium. Moreover, the emm-types and antibiotic susceptibility were determined. We tested 30 invasive S. pyogenes strains isolated from postpartum invasive infection and 37 GAS control strains isolated from the genital tracts of asymptomatic multiparous women. The majority of the tested strains were shown to express two types of emm genes (1 and 28), though emm -12, -28, -75 and -89 were uniquely expressed in the group of strains isolated from invasive infections. A significantly higher prevalence of perR in the strains from puerperal fever was shown. Significant differences were also found between the two groups with respect to the incidence of the genes related to adherence; GAS strains originating from women with sepsis/puerperal fever showed presence of these genes less frequently than those of the control group. Although differences in frequencies of the gene coding for various superantigens were noted between the compared groups of GAS strains, they were not significant.
authors.affiliation: Jagiellonian University Medical College, 18 Czysta Str., 31-121, Kracow, Poland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Golińska
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, RWTH Aachen University, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van der Linden
authors.affiliation: Jagiellonian University Medical College, 18 Czysta Str., 31-121, Kracow, Poland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Więcek
authors.affiliation: Jagiellonian University Medical College, 18 Czysta Str., 31-121, Kracow, Poland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mikołajczyk
authors.affiliation: Jagiellonian University Medical College, 18 Czysta Str., 31-121, Kracow, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Machul
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Clinical Center in Gdansk, 7 Debinki Str., 80-952, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samet
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, University Clinical Center in Gdansk, 7 Debinki Str., 80-952, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piórkowska
authors.affiliation: Microbiological Laboratory, Diagnostics Inc., Kracow Branch, Na Skarpie 66 axis, 31-913, Kracow, Poland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dorycka
authors.affiliation: Jagiellonian University Medical College, 18 Czysta Str., 31-121, Kracow, Poland.
authors.forename: P B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Heczko
authors.affiliation: Jagiellonian University Medical College, 18 Czysta Str., 31-121, Kracow, Poland. mbstrus@cyf-kr.edu.pl.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strus
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000382:microbiology*; D065288:Serogroup; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013297:Streptococcus pyogenes / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors