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Journal of Bacteriology, April 2009, p. 2163-2168, Vol. 191, No. 7
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01489-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Pneumolysin Localizes to the Cell Wall of Streptococcus pneumoniae{triangledown}

Katherine E. Price and Andrew Camilli*

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02111

Received 22 October 2008/ Accepted 12 January 2009

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the causative agent of multiple diseases, including otitis media, pneumonia, bacteremia, and meningitis. Pneumolysin (Ply), a member of the cholesterol-dependent cytolytic pore-forming toxins, is produced by virtually all clinical isolates of S. pneumoniae, and strains in which the Ply gene has been deleted are severely attenuated in mouse models of infection. In contrast to all other members of the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin family, Ply lacks a signal peptide for export. Instead, Ply has been hypothesized to be released upon autolysis or, alternatively, via a nonautolytic mechanism that remains ill defined. We determined by use of cell fractionation and Western blotting that, during in vitro growth, exported Ply is localized primarily to the cell wall compartment in 18 different serotypes in the absence of detectable cell lysis. Hemolytic assays revealed that this cell wall-localized Ply is active. Additionally, cell wall-localized Ply is accessible to extracellular protease and is detergent releasable.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Molecular Biology and Microbiology, Tufts University School of Medicine, 136 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111. Phone: (617) 636-2144. Fax: (617) 636-2175. E-mail: andrew.camilli{at}tufts.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 23 January 2009.

Journal of Bacteriology, April 2009, p. 2163-2168, Vol. 191, No. 7
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01489-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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