The Elie Metchnikoff Department, University of Messina, Messina I-98125, Italy.
Vaccine. 2010 Apr 30;28(20):3609-16. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.01.009. Epub 2010 Jan 14.
Pili of gram-positive bacteria are key virulence factors and their subunits are considered excellent vaccine candidates. Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic agent that can cause epidemics of life-threatening infections in humans, but the functional role or immunoprotective potential of its pilus components have not been studied yet. Using a selective proteomics approach, we have identified a surface protein of serotype 2 S. suis showing features of an ancillary pilus subunit, as evidenced by bioinformatics analysis, immunoblot and immunoelectron microscopy. Immunization with recombinant fragments of this protein, designated herein as PAPI-2b, markedly protected mice from systemic S. suis infection.
革兰氏阳性菌的菌毛是关键的毒力因子，其亚基被认为是优秀的疫苗候选物。猪链球菌是一种新兴的人畜共患病病原体，可在人类中引起危及生命的感染性疾病的爆发，但尚未研究其菌毛成分的功能作用或免疫保护潜力。使用选择性蛋白质组学方法，我们鉴定出了血清型 2 猪链球菌的一种表面蛋白，该蛋白具有辅助菌毛亚基的特征，这一点通过生物信息学分析、免疫印迹和免疫电子显微镜得到了证实。用这种蛋白的重组片段（本文中称为 PAPI-2b）免疫小鼠，可显著保护其免受全身性猪链球菌感染。
