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J Bacteriol, June 1998, p. 3080-3090, Vol. 180, No. 12
Department of Microbiology and Infectious
Diseases, University of Calgary, Health Sciences Center, Calgary,
Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1
Received 13 January 1998/Accepted 29 March 1998
Pathogenic members of the family Neisseriaceae produce
specific receptors facilitating iron acquisition from transferrin (Tf) and lactoferrin (Lf) of their mammalian host. Tf receptors are composed
of two outer membrane proteins, Tf-binding proteins A and B (TbpA and
TbpB; formerly designated Tbp1 and Tbp2, respectively). Although only a
single Lf-binding protein, LbpA (formerly designated Lbp1), had
previously been recognized, we recently identified additional bacterial
Lf-binding proteins in the human pathogens Neisseria
meningitidis and Moraxella catarrhalis and the bovine pathogen Moraxella bovis by a modified affinity isolation
technique (R. A. Bonnah, R.-H. Yu, and A. B. Schryvers,
Microb. Pathog. 19:285-297, 1995). In this report, we characterize an
open reading frame (ORF) located immediately upstream of the
N. meningitidis B16B6 lbpA gene. Amino
acid sequence comparisons of various TbpBs with the product of the
translated DNA sequence from the upstream ORF suggests that the region
encodes the Lf-binding protein B homolog (LbpB). The LbpB from strain
B16B6 has two large stretches of negatively charged amino acids that
are not present in the various transferrin receptor homologs (TbpBs).
Expression of the recombinant LbpB protein as a fusion with maltose
binding protein demonstrated functional Lf-binding activity. Studies
with N. meningitidis isogenic mutants in which the
lbpA gene and the ORF immediately upstream of
lbpA (putative lbpB gene) were insertionally
inactivated demonstrated that LbpA, but not LbpB, is essential for iron
acquisition from Lf in vitro.
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Preparation and Characterization of Neisseria
meningitidis Mutants Deficient in Production of the Human
Lactoferrin-Binding Proteins LbpA and LbpB
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Heritage Medical Research Bldg., Health Sciences Center, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1. Phone: (403) 220-3703. Fax: (403) 270-2772. E-mail: schryver{at}acs.ucalgary.ca.
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