ArticleInfection and immunity2009
Mode of expression and functional characterization of FCT-3 pilus region-encoded proteins in Streptococcus pyogenes serotype M49.
Article in Infection and immunity, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers.
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Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 88 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global spread of Streptococcus pyogenes A genomics-supported narrative review.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Group A Streptococcus Pili-Roles in Pathogenesis and Potential for Vaccine Development.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- Analysis of FctB3 crystal structure and insight into its structural stabilization and pilin linkage mechanisms.Archives of microbiology · 2023Article
- Pilus proteins from Streptococcus pyogenes stimulate innate immune responses through Toll-like receptor 2.Immunology and cell biology · 2022Article
- Whole-Genome Sequence of Streptococcus pyogenes Strain 591, Belonging to the GenotypeMicrobiology resource announcements · 2021Article
- Review
- Genetics, Structure, and Function of Group A Streptococcal Pili.Frontiers in microbiology · 2021Review
- Article
- Thermosensitive pilus production by FCT type 3 Streptococcus pyogenes controlled by Nra regulator translational efficiency.Molecular microbiology · 2020Article
- Superantigen SpeA attenuates the biofilm forming capacity of Streptococcus pyogenes.Journal of microbiology (Seoul, Korea) · 2019Article
- The 5'-nucleotidase S5nA is dispensable for evasion of phagocytosis and biofilm formation in Streptococcus pyogenes.PloS one · 2019Article
- Identification and Characterization of Serotype-Specific Variation in Group A Streptococcus Pilus Expression.Infection and immunity · 2018Article
- Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus endocarditis isolate interferes with coagulation and activates the contact system.Virulence · 2018Article
- The Regulatory Small RNA MarS Supports Virulence of Streptococcus pyogenes.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Pilus biogenesis of Gram-positive bacteria: Roles of sortases and implications for assembly.Protein science : a publication of the Protein Society · 2017Review
- Novel Molecular Insights about Lactobacillar Sortase-Dependent Piliation.International journal of molecular sciences · 2017Review
- Increased Pilus Production Conferred by a Naturally Occurring Mutation Alters Host-Pathogen Interaction in Favor of Carriage in Streptococcus pyogenes.Infection and immunity · 2017Article
- Article
- Deletion of the L-Lactate Dehydrogenase GeneFrontiers in microbiology · 2017Article
- Biofilm in group A streptococcal necrotizing soft tissue infections.JCI insight · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus [GAS]) pilus components, suggested to play a role in pathogenesis, are encoded in the variable FCT (fibronectin- and collagen-binding T-antigen) region. We investigated the functions of sortase A (SrtA), sortase C2 (SrtC2), and the FctA protein of the most prevalent type 3 FCT region from a serotype M49 strain. Although it is considered a housekeeping sortase, SrtA's activity is involved in pilus formation in addition to its essentiality for GAS extracellular matrix protein binding, host cell adherence/internalization, survival in human blood, and biofilm formation. SrtC2 activity is crucial for pilus formation but dispensable for the other phenotypes tested in vitro. FctA is the major pilus backbone protein, simultaneously acting as the M49 T antigen, and requires SrtC2 and LepA, a signal peptidase I homologue, for monomeric surface expression and polymerization, respectively. Collagen-binding protein Cpa expression supports pilus formation at the pilus base. Immunofluorescence microscopy and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis revealed several unexpected expression patterns, as follows: (i) the monomeric pilus protein FctA was found exclusively at the old poles of GAS cells, (ii) FctA protein expression increased with lower temperatures, and (iii) FctA protein expression was restricted to 20 to 50% of a given GAS M49 population, suggesting regulation by a bistability mode. Notably, disruption of pilus assembly by sortase deletion rendered GAS serotype M49 significantly more aggressive in a dermonecrotic mouse infection model, indicating that sortase activity and, consequently, pilus expression allow a subpopulation of this GAS serotype to be less aggressive. Thus, pilus expression may not be a virulence attribute of GAS per se.
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