Streptococcus pyogenes Forms Serotype- and Local Environment-Dependent Interspecies Protein Complexes
Sounak Chowdhury, Hamed Khakzad, Gizem Ertürk, Rolf Lood, Simon Ekström, Dirk Linke, Lars Malmström, Lotta Happonen, Johan Malmström
Abstract
Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus [GAS]), is a human-specific Gram-positive bacterium. Each year, the bacterium affects 700 million people globally, leading to 160,000 deaths. The clinical manifestations of S. pyogenes are diverse, ranging from mild and common infections like tonsillitis and impetigo to life-threatening systemic conditions such as sepsis and necrotizing fasciitis. S. pyogenes expresses multiple virulence factors on its surface to localize and initiate infections in humans. Among all these expressed virulence factors, the M protein is the most important antigen. In this study, we perform an in-depth characterization of the human protein interactions formed around one of the foremost human pathogens. This strategy allowed us to decipher the protein interaction networks around different S. pyogenes strains on a global scale and to compare and visualize how such interactions are mediated by M proteins.