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Chiang-Ni C, Hsu CY, Yeh YH, Chi CY, Wang S, Tsai PJ, Chiu CH. Detection of toxigenic M1 UK lineage group A Streptococcus clones in Taiwan. JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY, IMMUNOLOGY, AND INFECTION = WEI MIAN YU GAN RAN ZA ZHI 2024; 57:269-277. [PMID: 38278671 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmii.2024.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 11/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A new sublineage of emm1 group A Streptococcus (GAS), M1UK, has emerged in Europe, North America, and Australia. Notably, a significant portion of emm1 isolates in Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and mainland China, acquired scarlet fever-associated prophages following the 2011 Hong Kong scarlet fever outbreak. However, the presence of the M1UK sublineage has not yet been detected in Asia. METHODS This study included 181 GAS isolates (2011-2021). The emm type of these isolates were determined, and 21 emm1 isolates from blood or pleural fluid (2011-2021) and 10 emm1 isolates from throat swabs (2016-2018) underwent analysis. The presence of the scarlet fever-associated prophages and the specific single nucleotide polymorphisms of the M1UK clone were determined by polymerase chain reaction and the genome sequencing. RESULTS The M1UK lineage strains from throat swab and blood samples were identified. One of the M1UK strain in Taiwan carried the scarlet fever-associated prophage and therefore acquired the ssa, speC, and spd1 toxin repertoire. Nonetheless, the increase of M1UK was not observed until 2021, and there was a reduction in the diversity of emm types in 2020-2021, possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic restriction policies in Taiwan. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggested that the M1UK lineage clone has introduced in Taiwan. In Taiwan, the COVID-19 restrictions were officially released in March 2023; therefore, it would be crucial to continuously monitor the M1UK expansion and its related diseases in the post COVID-19 era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
| | - Chih-Yun Hsu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Hsuan Yeh
- Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Yu Chi
- National Institute of Infectious Disease and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Shuying Wang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Jane Tsai
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsun Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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Lai CY, Xie JX, Lai MC, Wu ZY, Lin JS, Huang YT, Chi CY, Chiang-Ni C, Walker MJ, Chang YC. Conserved molecular chaperone PrsA stimulates protective immunity against group A Streptococcus. NPJ Vaccines 2024; 9:46. [PMID: 38409165 PMCID: PMC10897429 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-024-00839-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a significant human pathogen that poses a global health concern. However, the development of a GAS vaccine has been challenging due to the multitude of diverse M-types and the risk of triggering cross-reactive immune responses. Our previous research has identified a critical role of PrsA1 and PrsA2, surface post-translational molecular chaperone proteins, in maintaining GAS proteome homeostasis and virulence traits. In this study, we aimed to further explore the potential of PrsA1 and PrsA2 as vaccine candidates for preventing GAS infection. We found that PrsA1 and PrsA2 are highly conserved among GAS isolates, demonstrating minimal amino acid variation. Antibodies specifically targeting PrsA1/A2 showed no cross-reactivity with human heart proteins and effectively enhanced neutrophil opsonophagocytic killing of various GAS serotypes. Additionally, passive transfer of PrsA1/A2-specific antibodies conferred protective immunity in infected mice. Compared to alum, immunization with CFA-adjuvanted PrsA1/A2 induced higher levels of Th1-associated IgG isotypes and complement activation and provided approximately 70% protection against invasive GAS challenge. These findings highlight the potential of PrsA1 and PrsA2 as universal vaccine candidates for the development of an effective GAS vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chien-Yu Lai
- Graduate Institute of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Jia-Xun Xie
- Graduate Institute of Immunology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Meng-Chih Lai
- Graduate Institute of Immunology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Zhao-Yi Wu
- Graduate Institute of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Jr-Shiuan Lin
- Graduate Institute of Immunology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Tsung Huang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Yu Chi
- National Institute of Infectious Disease and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, 300, Taiwan
| | - Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan
| | - Mark J Walker
- Centre for Superbug Solutions, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Yung-Chi Chang
- Graduate Institute of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10051, Taiwan.
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Chiang-Ni C, Chiang CY, Chen YW, Shi YA, Chao YT, Wang S, Tsai PJ, Chiu CH. RopB-regulated SpeB cysteine protease degrades extracellular vesicles-associated streptolysin O and bacterial proteins from group A Streptococcus. Virulence 2023; 14:2249784. [PMID: 37621107 PMCID: PMC10461520 DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2023.2249784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be released from gram-positive bacteria and would participate in the delivery of bacterial toxins. Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) is one of the most common pathogens of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis. Spontaneous inactivating mutation in the CovR/CovS two-component regulatory system is related to the increase of EVs production via an unknown mechanism. This study aimed to investigate whether the CovR/CovS-regulated RopB, the transcriptional regulator of GAS exoproteins, would participate in regulating EVs production. Results showed that the size, morphology, and number of EVs released from the wild-type strain and the ropB mutant were similar, suggesting RopB is not involved in controlling EVs production. Nonetheless, RopB-regulated SpeB protease degrades streptolysin O and bacterial proteins in EVs. Although SpeB has crucial roles in modulating protein composition in EVs, the SpeB-positive EVs failed to trigger HaCaT keratinocytes pyroptosis, suggesting that EVs did not deliver SpeB into keratinocytes or the amount of SpeB in EVs was not sufficient to trigger cell pyroptosis. Finally, we identified that EV-associated enolase was resistant to SpeB degradation, and therefore could be utilized as the internal control protein for verifying SLO degradation. This study revealed that RopB would participate in modulating protein composition in EVs via SpeB-dependent protein degradation and suggested that enolase is a potential internal marker for studying GAS EVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Yi Chiang
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yan-Wen Chen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yong-An Shi
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Tzu Chao
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Shuying Wang
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Jane Tsai
- Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsun Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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Chiang-Ni C, Chen YW, Chen KL, Jiang JX, Shi YA, Hsu CY, Chen YYM, Lai CH, Chiu CH. RopB represses the transcription of speB in the absence of SIP in group A Streptococcus. Life Sci Alliance 2023; 6:e202201809. [PMID: 37001914 PMCID: PMC10071013 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202201809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
RopB is a quorum-sensing regulator that binds to the SpeB-inducing peptide (SIP) under acidic conditions. SIP is known to be degraded by the endopeptidase PepO, whose transcription is repressed by the CovR/CovS two-component regulatory system. Both SIP-bound RopB (RopB-SIP) and SIP-free RopB (apo-RopB) can bind to the speB promoter; however, only RopB-SIP activates speB transcription. In this study, we found that the SpeB expression was higher in the ropB mutant than in the SIP-inactivated (SIP*) mutant. Furthermore, the deletion of ropB in the SIP* mutant derepressed speB expression, suggesting that apo-RopB is a transcriptional repressor of speB Up-regulation of PepO in the covS mutant degraded SIP, resulting in the down-regulation of speB We demonstrate that deleting ropB in the covS mutant derepressed the speB expression, suggesting that the speB repression in this mutant was mediated not only by PepO-dependent SIP degradation but also by apo-RopB. These findings reveal a crosstalk between the CovR/CovS and RopB-SIP systems and redefine the role of RopB in regulating speB expression in group A Streptococcus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Chiang-Ni
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yan-Wen Chen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Kai-Lin Chen
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Jian-Xian Jiang
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yong-An Shi
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Yun Hsu
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Ywan M Chen
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Ho Lai
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Hsun Chiu
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Molecular Infectious Disease Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan
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