title: A serine/threonine phosphatase 1 ofStreptococcus suistype 2 is an important virulence factor.
abstract: Streptococcus suisis regarded as one of the major pathogens of pigs, andStreptococcus suistype 2 (SS2) is considered a zoonotic bacterium based on its ability to cause meningitis and streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome in humans. Many bacterial species contain genes encoding serine/threonine protein phosphatases (STPs) responsible for dephosphorylation of their substrates in a single reaction step. This study investigated the role ofstp1in the pathogenesis of SS2. An isogenicstp1mutant (Δstp1) was constructed from SS2 strain ZJ081101. The Δstp1mutant exhibited a significant increase in adhesion to HEp-2 and bEnd.3 cells as well as increased survival in RAW264.7 cells, as compared to the parent strain. Increased survival in macrophage cells might be related to resistance to reactive oxygen species since the Δstp1mutant was more resistant than its parent strain to paraquat-induced oxidative stress. However, compared to parent strain virulence, deletion ofstp1significantly attenuated virulence of SS2 in mice, as shown by the nearly double lethal dose 50 value and the lower bacterial load in organs and blood in the murine model. We conclude that Stp1 has an essential role in SS2 virulence.
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang University Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.|Center for Synthetic Biology Engineering Research, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
authors.forename: Lihua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang University Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang University Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Pengcheng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang University Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yunkai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang University Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang University Institute of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Weihuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017011:Streptococcus suis / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1
keywords: Streptococcus suis type 2; serine/threonine protein phosphatase; virulence