Oligopeptide Transporters of Nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae Regulate CbpAC and PspA Expression and Reduce Complement-Mediated Clearance
Courtney D. Thompson, Jessica L. Bradshaw, Wesley S. Miller, Ana G. Jop Vidal, Jorge E. Vidal, Jason W. Rosch, Larry S. McDaniel, Lance E. Keller
Abstract
, which have been shown to regulate the expression of numerous genes and to be required for NESp virulence and immune evasion. Furthermore, NESp strains have high transformation efficiencies and harbor resistance to multiple drugs. This could be deleterious to current treatment strategies employed for pneumococcal disease as NESp can be a reservoir of drug resistance genes. Therefore, deciphering how NESp survives within a host and facilitates disease is a necessity that will allow the fabrication of improved, broad-spectrum treatments and preventatives against pneumococcal disease. Our study provides a better understanding of NESp virulence mechanisms during host-pathogen interactions through the examination of genes directly regulated by the NESp proteins AliC and AliD.