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      Two-partner secretion systems of Neisseria meningitidis associated with invasive clonal complexes.

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          Abstract

          The two-partner secretion (TPS) pathway is widespread among gram-negative bacteria and facilitates the secretion of very large and often virulence-related proteins. TPS systems consist of a secreted TpsA protein and a TpsB protein involved in TpsA transport across the outer membrane. Sequenced Neisseria meningitidis genomes contain up to five TpsA- and two TpsB-encoding genes. Here, we investigated the distribution of TPS-related open reading frames in a collection of disease isolates. Three distinct TPS systems were identified among meningococci. System 1 was ubiquitous, while systems 2 and 3 were significantly more prevalent among isolates of hyperinvasive clonal complexes than among isolates of poorly invasive clonal complexes. In laboratory cultures, systems 1 and 2 were expressed. However, several sera from patients recovering from disseminated meningococcal disease recognized the TpsAs of systems 2 and 3, indicating the expression of these systems during infection. Furthermore, we showed that the major secreted TpsAs of systems 1 and 2 depend on their cognate TpsBs for transport across the outer membrane and that the system 1 TpsAs undergo processing. Together, our data indicate that TPS systems may contribute to the virulence of N. meningitidis.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Infect Immun
          Infection and immunity
          American Society for Microbiology
          1098-5522
          0019-9567
          Oct 2008
          : 76
          : 10
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Department of Molecular Microbiology, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands. peter.van.ulsen@falw.vu.nl
          Article
          IAI.00393-08
          10.1128/IAI.00393-08
          2546848
          18678657
          ab33b514-fef4-4860-97fa-bee65f8b6a81
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