MOLECULAR PROFILES OF VIRULENCE IN INVASIVE STRAINS OF Streptococcus agalactiae IN TWO ARGENTINE PROVINCES

BOBADILLA, F.; NOVOSAK, M.; CANNISTRACI GIOLITO R, ; PAVAN, J.; LACZESKI, M.

Aguas de Lindoia

Otro; Anual Meeting of Brazilian Society for Biochemestry of Molecular Biology; 2017

SBBq

Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) is the leading cause of severe invasive infections in infants less than three months. Meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis are the leading cadres in these children. Infection is primarily acquired vertically from mothers colonized with GBS. GBS has many virulence factors, the capsular polysaccharide is one of the most important and is associated with different surface proteins of antigenic characteristics, such as α, HylB, C5a peptidase, FbsA and FbsB which are encoded by several genes associated with virulence and host interaction acting on bacteria involved in invasiveness. The study of surface protein antigens is important for the understanding of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of infection and several of these antigens have been proposed as components of multivalent conjugate vaccines. This study was carried out in order to study the molecular profiles of virulence in invasive GBS strains. Fifteen isolates of blood culture, cerebroespinal fluid, ovary membranes, bone and urinary infections from Misiones Province and Córdoba Province (Argentina), were studied. Virulence genes those encoding: C protein (bac), hyaluronidase (hylB), c5a-peptidase (scpB), FbsA (fbsA) and FbsB (fbsB) protein were investigated by conventional PCR. None of them presented all genes simultaneously. fbsA and cspB genes were detected in 93.33% of the strains. Other genes studied were detected in these frequencies: fbsB (86.67%), bac (80.00%) and hylB (53.33%). The high frequency of detection of fbsA, cspB and fbsB genes, suggesting assessment of their inclusion in future vaccines