Proteomic comparisons of opaque and transparent variants of Streptococcus pneumoniae by two dimensional-differential gel electrophoresis

TY - JOUR

T1 - Proteomic comparisons of opaque and transparent variants of Streptococcus pneumoniae by two dimensional-differential gel electrophoresis

AU - Chai, Melissa H.

AU - Weiland, Florian

AU - Harvey, Richard M.

AU - Hoffmann, Peter

AU - Ogunniyi, Abiodun D.

AU - Paton, James C.

N1 - This work was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Program Grant 565526 to J.C.P. and Project Grant 627142 to J.C.P. and A.D.O. MC received an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA)

PY - 2017/5/26

Y1 - 2017/5/26

N2 - Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is a human pathogen, accounting for massive global morbidity and mortality. Although asymptomatic colonization of the nasopharynx almost invariably precedes disease, the critical determinants enabling pneumococcal progression from this niche to cause invasive disease are poorly understood. One mechanism proposed to be central to this transition involves opacity phase variation, whereby pneumococci harvested from the nasopharynx are typically transparent, while those simultaneously harvested from the blood are opaque. Here, we used two dimensional-differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) to compare protein expression profiles of transparent and opaque variants of 3 pneumococcal strains, D39 (serotype 2), WCH43 (serotype 4) and WCH16 (serotype 6A) in vitro. One spot comprising a mixture of capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis protein and other proteins was significantly up-regulated in the opaque phenotype in all 3 strains; other proteins were differentially regulated in a strain-specific manner. We conclude that pneumococcal phase variation is a complex and multifactorial process leading to strain-specific pathogenicity.

AB - Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is a human pathogen, accounting for massive global morbidity and mortality. Although asymptomatic colonization of the nasopharynx almost invariably precedes disease, the critical determinants enabling pneumococcal progression from this niche to cause invasive disease are poorly understood. One mechanism proposed to be central to this transition involves opacity phase variation, whereby pneumococci harvested from the nasopharynx are typically transparent, while those simultaneously harvested from the blood are opaque. Here, we used two dimensional-differential gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) to compare protein expression profiles of transparent and opaque variants of 3 pneumococcal strains, D39 (serotype 2), WCH43 (serotype 4) and WCH16 (serotype 6A) in vitro. One spot comprising a mixture of capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis protein and other proteins was significantly up-regulated in the opaque phenotype in all 3 strains; other proteins were differentially regulated in a strain-specific manner. We conclude that pneumococcal phase variation is a complex and multifactorial process leading to strain-specific pathogenicity.

KW - Bacteriology

KW - Infection

KW - Proteome

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-02465-x

DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-02465-x

M3 - Article

C2 - 28550292

SN - 2045-2322

VL - 7

SP - 1

EP - 11

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

M1 - 2453

ER -