ArticlePLoS pathogens2023
Pneumococcal capsule expression is controlled through a conserved, distal cis-regulatory element during infection.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Type I restriction-modification systems regulate gene expression through DNA topology.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- The WalRK two-component system inmBio · 2026Article
- Transcriptional regulation of the pneumococcal capsule can dictate serotype-specific infection.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Transcriptomic analysis ofMicrobial genomics · 2025Article
- A glyoxal-specific aldehyde signaling axis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that influences quorum sensing and infection.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Increased Proportions of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Cases Among Adults Experiencing Homelessness Sets the Stage for New Serotype 4 Capsular-Switch Recombinants.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Intra-serotype variation ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Point mutations in functionally diverse genes are associated with increased natural DNA transformation in multidrug resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Non-invasiveEuro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2024Article
- A TrmBL2-like transcription factor mediates the growth phase-dependent expression of halolysin SptA in a concentration-dependent manner inApplied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Peptide maturation molecules act as molecular gatekeepers to coordinate cell-cell communication in Streptococcus pneumoniae.Cell reports · 2024Article
- Environmental and genetic regulation of Streptococcus pneumoniae galactose catabolic pathways.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Expansion of pneumococcal serotype 23F and 14 lineages with genotypic changes in capsule polysaccharide locus and virulence gene profiles post introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Blantyre, Malawi.Microbial genomics · 2024Article
- A narrative review of genomic characteristics, serotype, immunogenicity, and vaccine development ofClinical and experimental vaccine research · 2024Review
- Synthetic genetic oscillators demonstrate the functional importance of phenotypic variation in pneumococcal-host interactions.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Type II bacterial toxin-antitoxins: hypotheses, facts, and the newfound plethora of the PezAT system.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2023Article
- Effects of Capsular Polysaccharide amount on Pneumococcal-Host interactions.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is the major cause of bacterial pneumonia in the US and worldwide. Studies have shown that the differing chemical make-up between serotypes of its most important virulence factor, the capsule, can dictate disease severity. Here we demonstrate that control of capsule synthesis is also critical for infection and facilitated by two broadly conserved transcription factors, SpxR and CpsR, through a distal cis-regulatory element we name the 37-CE. Strikingly, changing only three nucleotides within this sequence is sufficient to render pneumococcus avirulent. Using in vivo and in vitro approaches, we present a model where SpxR interacts as a unique trimeric quaternary structure with the 37-CE to enable capsule repression in the airways. Considering its dramatic effect on infection, variation of the 37-CE between serotypes suggests this molecular switch could be a critical contributing factor to this pathogen's serotype-specific disease outcomes.
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Registered trials
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