Functional analysis of the CpsA protein of Streptococcus agalactiae

J Bacteriol. 2012 Apr;194(7):1668-78. doi: 10.1128/JB.06373-11. Epub 2012 Jan 27.

Abstract

Streptococcal pathogens, such as the group B streptococcus (GBS) Streptococcus agalactiae, are an important cause of systemic disease, which is facilitated in part by the presence of a polysaccharide capsule. The CpsA protein is a putative transcriptional regulator of the capsule locus, but its exact contribution to regulation is unknown. To address the role of CpsA in regulation, full-length GBS CpsA and two truncated forms of the protein were purified and analyzed for DNA-binding ability. Assays demonstrated that CpsA is able to bind specifically to two putative promoters within the capsule operon with similar affinity, and full-length protein is required for specificity. Functional characterization of CpsA confirmed that the ΔcpsA strain produced less capsule than did the wild type and demonstrated that the production of full-length CpsA or the DNA-binding region of CpsA resulted in increased capsule levels. In contrast, the production of a truncated form of CpsA lacking the extracellular LytR domain (CpsA-245) in the wild-type background resulted in a dominant-negative decrease in capsule production. GBS expressing CpsA-245, but not the ΔcpsA strain, was attenuated in human whole blood. However, the ΔcpsA strain showed significant attenuation in a zebrafish infection model. Furthermore, chain length was observed to be variable in a CpsA-dependent manner, but could be restored to wild-type levels when grown with lysozyme. Taken together, these results suggest that CpsA is a modular protein influencing multiple regulatory functions that may include not only capsule synthesis but also cell wall associated factors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Capsules / biosynthesis
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Erythrocytes / microbiology
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
  • Humans
  • Operon
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Streptococcal Infections / microbiology*
  • Streptococcus agalactiae / chemistry
  • Streptococcus agalactiae / genetics
  • Streptococcus agalactiae / metabolism*
  • Streptococcus agalactiae / pathogenicity
  • Virulence
  • Zebrafish

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins