Skip to main content
PMC home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1995 Feb;63(2):703–706. doi: 10.1128/iai.63.2.703-706.1995

Cloning of an Enterococcus faecalis endocarditis antigen: homology with adhesins from some oral streptococci.

A M Lowe 1, P A Lambert 1, A W Smith 1
PMCID: PMC173055  PMID: 7822045

Abstract

Serum from a patient with Enterococcus faecalis endocarditis was used to identify the gene efaA cloned in Lambda ZapII in Escherichia coli. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a 924-bp open reading frame encoding a protein with a predicted molecular weight of 34,768. The amino acid sequence of EfaA shows 55 to 60% homology to a group of streptococcal proteins, FimA from Streptococcus parasanguis, SsaB from Streptococcus sanguis, ScaA from Streptococcus gordonii, and PsaA from Streptococcus pneumoniae. Members of this group have been shown to be adhesins, and we hypothesize that EfaA may function as an adhesin in endocarditis.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (298.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aitchison E. J., Lambert P. A., Farrell I. D. Antigenic composition of an endocarditis-associated isolate of Streptococcus faecalis and identification of its glycoprotein antigens by ligand blotting with lectins. J Med Microbiol. 1986 Mar;21(2):161–167. doi: 10.1099/00222615-21-2-161. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aitchison E. J., Lambert P. A., Smith E. G., Farrell I. D. Serodiagnosis of Streptococcus faecalis endocarditis by immunoblotting of surface protein antigens. J Clin Microbiol. 1987 Feb;25(2):211–215. doi: 10.1128/jcm.25.2.211-215.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Almirante B., Tornos M. P., Gurgui M., Pujol M., Miró J. M. Prognosis of enterococcal endocarditis. Rev Infect Dis. 1991 Nov-Dec;13(6):1248–1249. doi: 10.1093/clinids/13.6.1248. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Andersen R. N., Ganeshkumar N., Kolenbrander P. E. Cloning of the Streptococcus gordonii PK488 gene, encoding an adhesin which mediates coaggregation with Actinomyces naeslundii PK606. Infect Immun. 1993 Mar;61(3):981–987. doi: 10.1128/iai.61.3.981-987.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Burnie J. P., Clark I. Diagnosing endocarditis with the cloned 112 kDa antigen of Enterococcus faecalis. J Immunol Methods. 1989 Oct 24;123(2):217–225. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(89)90225-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fachon-Kalweit S., Elder B. L., Fives-Taylor P. Antibodies that bind to fimbriae block adhesion of Streptococcus sanguis to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite. Infect Immun. 1985 Jun;48(3):617–624. doi: 10.1128/iai.48.3.617-624.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fenno J. C., LeBlanc D. J., Fives-Taylor P. Nucleotide sequence analysis of a type 1 fimbrial gene of Streptococcus sanguis FW213. Infect Immun. 1989 Nov;57(11):3527–3533. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.11.3527-3533.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Ganeshkumar N., Hannam P. M., Kolenbrander P. E., McBride B. C. Nucleotide sequence of a gene coding for a saliva-binding protein (SsaB) from Streptococcus sanguis 12 and possible role of the protein in coaggregation with actinomyces. Infect Immun. 1991 Mar;59(3):1093–1099. doi: 10.1128/iai.59.3.1093-1099.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ganeshkumar N., Song M., McBride B. C. Cloning of a Streptococcus sanguis adhesin which mediates binding to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite. Infect Immun. 1988 May;56(5):1150–1157. doi: 10.1128/iai.56.5.1150-1157.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Guzmàn C. A., Pruzzo C., LiPira G., Calegari L. Role of adherence in pathogenesis of Enterococcus faecalis urinary tract infection and endocarditis. Infect Immun. 1989 Jun;57(6):1834–1838. doi: 10.1128/iai.57.6.1834-1838.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Guzmàn C. A., Pruzzo C., Platè M., Guardati M. C., Calegari L. Serum dependent expression of Enterococcus faecalis adhesins involved in the colonization of heart cells. Microb Pathog. 1991 Dec;11(6):399–409. doi: 10.1016/0882-4010(91)90036-a. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Jenkinson H. F. Adherence and accumulation of oral streptococci. Trends Microbiol. 1994 Jun;2(6):209–212. doi: 10.1016/0966-842x(94)90114-k. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Jenkinson H. F. Adherence, coaggregation, and hydrophobicity of Streptococcus gordonii associated with expression of cell surface lipoproteins. Infect Immun. 1992 Mar;60(3):1225–1228. doi: 10.1128/iai.60.3.1225-1228.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kolenbrander P. E., Andersen R. N., Ganeshkumar N. Nucleotide sequence of the Streptococcus gordonii PK488 coaggregation adhesin gene, scaA, and ATP-binding cassette. Infect Immun. 1994 Oct;62(10):4469–4480. doi: 10.1128/iai.62.10.4469-4480.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Kyte J., Doolittle R. F. A simple method for displaying the hydropathic character of a protein. J Mol Biol. 1982 May 5;157(1):105–132. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(82)90515-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Lambert P. A., Shorrock P. J., Aitchison E. J., Domingue P. A., Power M. E., Costerton J. W. Effect of in vivo growth conditions upon expression of surface protein antigens in Enterococcus faecalis. FEMS Microbiol Immunol. 1990 May;2(1):51–54. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1990.tb03478.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Megran D. W. Enterococcal endocarditis. Clin Infect Dis. 1992 Jul;15(1):63–71. doi: 10.1093/clinids/15.1.63. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Rice L. B., Calderwood S. B., Eliopoulos G. M., Farber B. F., Karchmer A. W. Enterococcal endocarditis: a comparison of prosthetic and native valve disease. Rev Infect Dis. 1991 Jan-Feb;13(1):1–7. doi: 10.1093/clinids/13.1.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Sampson J. S., O'Connor S. P., Stinson A. R., Tharpe J. A., Russell H. Cloning and nucleotide sequence analysis of psaA, the Streptococcus pneumoniae gene encoding a 37-kilodalton protein homologous to previously reported Streptococcus sp. adhesins. Infect Immun. 1994 Jan;62(1):319–324. doi: 10.1128/iai.62.1.319-324.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Sanger F., Nicklen S., Coulson A. R. DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1977 Dec;74(12):5463–5467. doi: 10.1073/pnas.74.12.5463. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Shorrock P. J., Lambert P. A., Aitchison E. J., Smith E. G., Farrell I. D., Gutschik E. Serological response in Enterococcus faecalis endocarditis determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. J Clin Microbiol. 1990 Feb;28(2):195–200. doi: 10.1128/jcm.28.2.195-200.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Skjold S. A., Quie P. G., Fries L. A., Barnham M., Cleary P. P. DNA fingerprinting of Streptococcus zooepidemicus (Lancefield group C) as an aid to epidemiological study. J Infect Dis. 1987 Jun;155(6):1145–1150. doi: 10.1093/infdis/155.6.1145. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Tailor S. A., Bailey E. M., Rybak M. J. Enterococcus, an emerging pathogen. Ann Pharmacother. 1993 Oct;27(10):1231–1242. doi: 10.1177/106002809302701014. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Tanimoto K., Clewell D. B. Regulation of the pAD1-encoded sex pheromone response in Enterococcus faecalis: expression of the positive regulator TraE1. J Bacteriol. 1993 Feb;175(4):1008–1018. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.4.1008-1018.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Towbin H., Staehelin T., Gordon J. Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: procedure and some applications. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1979 Sep;76(9):4350–4354. doi: 10.1073/pnas.76.9.4350. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES