Application of the C3-binding motif of streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B to protect mice from invasive group a streptococcal infection

PLoS One. 2015 Jan 28;10(1):e0117268. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117268. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is an important human pathogen that produces several extracellular exotoxins to facilitate invasion and infection. Streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B (SPE B) has been demonstrated to be an important virulence factor of GAS. Our previous studies indicate that SPE B cleaves complement 3 (C3) and inhibits the activation of complement pathways. In this study, we constructed and expressed recombinant fragments of SPE B to examine the C3-binding site of SPE B. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and pull-down assays, we found that the C-terminal domain, containing amino-acid residues 345-398, of SPE B was the major binding site of human serum C3. We further identified a major, Ala376-Pro398, and a minor C3-binding motif, Gly346-Gly360, that both mediated the binding of C3 complement. Immunization with the C3-binding motifs protected mice against challenge with a lethal dose of non-invasive M49 strain GAS but not invasive M1 strains. To achieve higher efficiency against invasive M1 GAS infection, a combination of synthetic peptides derived from C-terminal epitope of streptolysin S (SLSpp) and from the major C3-binding motif of SPE B (PP6, Ala376-Pro398) was used to elicit specific immune response to those two important streptococcal exotoxins. Death rates and the severity of skin lesions decreased significantly in PP6/SLSpp-immunized mice that were infected with invasive M1 strains of GAS. These results indicate a combination of the C3-binding motif of SPE B and the protective epitope of SLS could be used as a subunit vaccine against invasive M1 strains group A streptococcal infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacterial Proteins / immunology*
  • Complement C3 / immunology*
  • Epitopes
  • Exotoxins / immunology*
  • Mice
  • Streptococcal Infections / immunology*
  • Streptococcal Infections / prevention & control*
  • Streptococcal Vaccines / immunology*
  • Streptococcus pyogenes / immunology

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Complement C3
  • Epitopes
  • Exotoxins
  • Streptococcal Vaccines
  • erythrogenic toxin

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants MOST97-2320-B214-001-MY3, MOST100-2320-B214-007, and MOST 103-2320-B-214-006 from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and ISU102-07-07 from I-Shou University, Taiwan. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.