Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1985 Aug 1;162(2):583–591. doi: 10.1084/jem.162.2.583

Epitopes of streptococcal M proteins shared with cardiac myosin

PMCID: PMC2187745  PMID: 2410530

Abstract

We present evidence that M proteins from three different serotypes of group A streptococci share epitopes with cardiac myosin. Rabbit antisera evoked by a purified fragment of type 5 M protein crossreacted with myosin, but not alpha-tropomyosin, actin, or myosin light chains. In enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, the myosin-crossreactive antibodies were totally inhibited by type 5 M protein and partially inhibited by types 6 and 19 M proteins. The affinity-purified myosin antibodies opsonized type 5 streptococci, indicating that they were directed against protective M protein epitopes on the surface of the organisms. Immunoblot analyses demonstrated the binding of the crossreactive antibodies to myosin heavy chains. Sera from patients with acute rheumatic fever showed significantly stronger reactions with myosin than did sera from their siblings, hospitalized controls, or patients with poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (651.4 KB).

Selected References

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

  1. Beachey E. H., Seyer J. M., Dale J. B., Hasty D. L. Repeating covalent structure and protective immunogenicity of native and synthetic polypeptide fragments of type 24 streptococcal M protein. Mapping of protective and nonprotective epitopes with monoclonal antibodies. J Biol Chem. 1983 Nov 10;258(21):13250–13257. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beachey E. H., Seyer J. M., Kang A. H. Primary structure of protective antigens of type 24 streptococcal M protein. J Biol Chem. 1980 Jul 10;255(13):6284–6289. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beachey E. H., Seyer J. M., Kang A. H. Repeating covalent structure of streptococcal M protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1978 Jul;75(7):3163–3167. doi: 10.1073/pnas.75.7.3163. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Beachey E. H., Stollerman G. H., Chiang E. Y., Chiang T. M., Seyer J. M., Kang A. H. Purification and properties of M protein extracted from group A streptococci with pepsin: covalent structure of the amino terminal region of type 24 M antigen. J Exp Med. 1977 Jun 1;145(6):1469–1483. doi: 10.1084/jem.145.6.1469. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cunningham M. W., Krisher K., Graves D. C. Murine monoclonal antibodies reactive with human heart and group A streptococcal membrane antigens. Infect Immun. 1984 Oct;46(1):34–41. doi: 10.1128/iai.46.1.34-41.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dale J. B., Beachey E. H. Multiple, heart-cross-reactive epitopes of streptococcal M proteins. J Exp Med. 1985 Jan 1;161(1):113–122. doi: 10.1084/jem.161.1.113. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Dale J. B., Beachey E. H. Protective antigenic determinant of streptococcal M protein shared with sarcolemmal membrane protein of human heart. J Exp Med. 1982 Oct 1;156(4):1165–1176. doi: 10.1084/jem.156.4.1165. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dale J. B., Ofek I., Beachey E. H. Heterogeneity of type-specific and cross-reactive antigenic determinants within a single M protein of group A streptococci. J Exp Med. 1980 May 1;151(5):1026–1038. doi: 10.1084/jem.151.5.1026. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Harrington W. F., Rodgers M. E. Myosin. Annu Rev Biochem. 1984;53:35–73. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bi.53.070184.000343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. KAPLAN M. H. IMMUNOLOGIC RELATION OF STREPTOCOCCAL AND TISSUE ANTIGENS. I. PROPERTIES OF AN ANTIGEN IN CERTAIN STRAINS OF GROUP A STREPTOCOCCI EXHIBITING AN IMMUNOLOGIC CROSS-REACTION WITH HUMAN HEART TISSUE. J Immunol. 1963 Apr;90:595–606. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. KAPLAN M. H., MEYESERIAN M. An immunological cross-reaction between group-A streptococcal cells and human heart tissue. Lancet. 1962 Apr 7;1(7232):706–710. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(62)91653-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kaplan M. H. Cross-reaction of group A streptococci and heart tissue: varying serologic specificity of cross-reactive antisera and relation to carrier-hapten specificity. Transplant Proc. 1969 Dec;1(4):976–980. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kennedy H. L., Das S. K. Postmyocardial infarction (Dressler's) syndrome: report of a case with immunological and viral studies. Am Heart J. 1976 Feb;91(2):233–239. doi: 10.1016/s0002-8703(76)80579-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Krisher K., Cunningham M. W. Myosin: a link between streptococci and heart. Science. 1985 Jan 25;227(4685):413–415. doi: 10.1126/science.2578225. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lyampert I. M., Vvedenskaya O. I., Danilova T. A. Study on streptococcus group A antigens common with heart tissue elements. Immunology. 1966 Oct;11(4):313–320. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Manjula B. N., Acharya A. S., Mische S. M., Fairwell T., Fischetti V. A. The complete amino acid sequence of a biologically active 197-residue fragment of M protein isolated from type 5 group A streptococci. J Biol Chem. 1984 Mar 25;259(6):3686–3693. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Manjula B. N., Fischetti V. A. Studies on group A streptococcal M-proteins: purification of type 5 M-protein and comparison of its amino terminal sequence with two immunologically unrelated M-protein molecules. J Immunol. 1980 Jan;124(1):261–267. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Manjula B. N., Fischetti V. A. Tropomyosin-like seven residue periodicity in three immunologically distinct streptococal M proteins and its implications for the antiphagocytic property of the molecule. J Exp Med. 1980 Mar 1;151(3):695–708. doi: 10.1084/jem.151.3.695. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Manjula B. N., Mische S. M., Fischetti V. A. Primary structure of streptococcal Pep M5 protein: Absence of extensive sequence repeats. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1983 Sep;80(18):5475–5479. doi: 10.1073/pnas.80.18.5475. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. McCabe J. C., Ebert P. A., Engle M. A., Zabriskie J. B. Circulating heart-reactive antibodies in the postpericardiotomy syndrome. J Surg Res. 1973 Feb;14(2):158–164. doi: 10.1016/0022-4804(73)90025-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. McLachlan A. D., Karn J. Periodic features in the amino acid sequence of nematode myosin rod. J Mol Biol. 1983 Mar 15;164(4):605–626. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(83)90053-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Parry D. A. Structure of rabbit skeletal myosin. Analysis of the amino acid sequences of two fragments from the rod region. J Mol Biol. 1981 Dec 5;153(2):459–464. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(81)90290-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Phillips G. N., Jr, Flicker P. F., Cohen C., Manjula B. N., Fischetti V. A. Streptococcal M protein: alpha-helical coiled-coil structure and arrangement on the cell surface. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Aug;78(8):4689–4693. doi: 10.1073/pnas.78.8.4689. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Seyer J. M., Kang A. H., Beachey E. H. Primary structural similarities between types 5 and 24 M proteins of Streptococcus pyogenes. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1980 Jan 29;92(2):546–553. doi: 10.1016/0006-291x(80)90368-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Zabriskie J. B., Freimer E. H. An immunological relationship between the group. A streptococcus and mammalian muscle. J Exp Med. 1966 Oct 1;124(4):661–678. doi: 10.1084/jem.124.4.661. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Zabriskie J. B., Hsu K. C., Seegal B. C. Heart-reactive antibody associated with rheumatic fever: characterization and diagnostic significance. Clin Exp Immunol. 1970 Aug;7(2):147–159. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. van de Rijn I., Zabriskie J. B., McCarty M. Group A streptococcal antigens cross-reactive with myocardium. Purification of heart-reactive antibody and isolation and characterization of the streptococcal antigen. J Exp Med. 1977 Aug 1;146(2):579–599. doi: 10.1084/jem.146.2.579. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Experimental Medicine are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES