LfhA, a Novel Factor H-Binding Protein of Leptospira interrogans

The early phase of leptospiral infection is characterized by the presence of live organisms in the blood. Pathogenic Leptospira interrogans is resistant to the alternative pathway of complement mediated-killing, while nonpathogenic members of the genus are not. Consistent with that observation, only...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Infection and Immunity 2006-05, Vol.74 (5), p.2659-2666
Main Authors: Verma, Ashutosh, Hellwage, Jens, Artiushin, Sergey, Zipfel, Peter F, Kraiczy, Peter, Timoney, John F, Stevenson, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Bacterial Proteins - physiology
Bacterial Vaccines - immunology
Bacteriology
Base Sequence
Biological and medical sciences
Blood Bactericidal Activity
Blood Proteins - metabolism
Carrier Proteins - physiology
Complement Factor H - metabolism
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Horses
Leptospira interrogans
Leptospira interrogans - immunology
Microbiology
Miscellaneous
Molecular Pathogenesis
Molecular Sequence Data
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Summary:The early phase of leptospiral infection is characterized by the presence of live organisms in the blood. Pathogenic Leptospira interrogans is resistant to the alternative pathway of complement mediated-killing, while nonpathogenic members of the genus are not. Consistent with that observation, only pathogenic leptospires bound factor H, a host fluid-phase regulator of the alternative complement pathway. Ligand affinity blot analyses revealed that pathogenic L. interrogans produces at least two factor H-binding proteins. Through screening of a lambda phage expression library, we identified one of these as the novel membrane protein LfhA. Ligand affinity assays and surface plasmon resonance analyses of recombinant LfhA revealed specific binding of both factor H and factor H-related protein 1. Serological examination of infected humans and horses demonstrated that LfhA is expressed by L. interrogans during mammalian infection. LfhA may therefore contribute to the resistance of pathogenic leptospires to complement-mediated killing during leptospiremic phases of the disease.
ISSN:1098-5522
0019-9567
1098-5522
DOI:10.1128/IAI.74.5.2659-2666.2006