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STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE Molecular Mechanisms of (cid:1) Host pathogen Interactions Editedby Jeremy Brown CentreforInflammationandTissueRepair,DepartmentofMedicine, UniversityCollegeMedicalSchool,London,UnitedKingdom Sven Hammerschmidt DepartmentGeneticsofMicroorganisms,InterfacultyInstituteforGeneticsandFunctionalGenomics, Ernst-Moritz-ArndtUniversita¨tGreifswald,Greifswald,Germany Carlos Orihuela DepartmentofMicrobiologyandImmunology,TheUniversityofTexasHealthScienceCenter atSanAntonio,SanAntonio,TXUSA AMSTERDAM(cid:129)BOSTON(cid:129)HEIDELBERG(cid:129)LONDON NEWYORK(cid:129)OXFORD(cid:129)PARIS(cid:129)SANDIEGO SANFRANCISCO(cid:129)SINGAPORE(cid:129)SYDNEY(cid:129)TOKYO AcademicPressisanimprintofElsevier AcademicPressisanimprintofElsevier 125,LondonWall,EC2Y5AS 525BStreet,Suite1800,SanDiego,CA92101-4495,USA 225WymanStreet,Waltham,MA02451,USA TheBoulevard,LangfordLane,Kidlington,OxfordOX51GB,UK Copyrightr2015ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic ormechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,oranyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,without permissioninwritingfromthepublisher.Detailsonhowtoseekpermission,furtherinformationaboutthe Publisher’spermissionspoliciesandourarrangementswithorganizationssuchastheCopyrightClearance CenterandtheCopyrightLicensingAgency,canbefoundatourwebsite:www.elsevier.com/permissions. ThisbookandtheindividualcontributionscontainedinitareprotectedundercopyrightbythePublisher (otherthanasmaybenotedherein). Notices Knowledgeandbestpracticeinthisfieldareconstantlychanging.Asnewresearchandexperiencebroaden ourunderstanding,changesinresearchmethods,professionalpractices,ormedicaltreatmentmaybecome necessary. Practitionersandresearchersmustalwaysrelyontheirownexperienceandknowledgeinevaluatingand usinganyinformation,methods,compounds,orexperimentsdescribedherein.Inusingsuchinformation ormethodstheyshouldbemindfuloftheirownsafetyandthesafetyofothers,includingpartiesforwhom theyhaveaprofessionalresponsibility. Tothefullestextentofthelaw,neitherthePublishernortheauthors,contributors,oreditors,assumeany liabilityforanyinjuryand/ordamagetopersonsorpropertyasamatterofproductsliability,negligence orotherwise,orfromanyuseoroperationofanymethods,products,instructions,orideascontained inthematerialherein. ISBN:978-0-12-410530-0 BritishLibraryCataloguing-in-PublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData AcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheLibraryofCongress ForinformationonallAcademicPresspublications visitourwebsiteathttp://store.elsevier.com/ TypesetbyMPSLimited,Chennai,India www.adi-mps.com PrintedandboundinUSA List of Contributors Vaibhav Agarwal Medical Protein Chemistry, David H. Dockrell The Florey Institute for Host- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund Pathogen Interactions, University of Sheffield University, Malmo¨ , Sweden; German Research School of Medicine, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Foundation-DFGOfficeIndia,NewDelhi,India Sheffield,UK Simone Bergmann Institute of Microbiology, Claire Durmort Univ. Grenoble Alpes, IBS, Technische Universita¨t Braunschweig, Grenoble, France; CNRS, IBS, Grenoble, France; Braunschweig,Germany CEA,DSV,IBS,Grenoble,France Hester J. Bootsma Laboratory of Pediatric Daniela M. Ferreira Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Liverpool,UK The Netherlands; Centre for Infectious Diseases Adam Finn Bristol Childrens Vaccine Centre, Research, Diagnostics and Screening, National UniversityofBristol,UK Institute for Public Health and the Environment John P. Fobiwe Center for Infectious Diseases and (RIVM),Bilthoven,TheNetherlands Infection Control and Center for Sepsis Care and Jeremy S. Brown Centre for Inflammation and Control,JenaUniversityHospital,Jena,Germany Tissue Repair, University College London, Sergio Gala´n-Bartual Department of London,UK CrystallographyandStructuralBiology,Instituto Joa´oA.Carric¸o InstitutodeMicrobiologia,Instituto de Qu´ımica-F´ısica Rocasolano, CSIC, Madrid, de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Spain UniversidadedeLisboa,Lisboa,Portugal Gustavo Ga´mez Basic and Applied Microbiology Scott Chancey Division of Infectious Diseases, Research Group (MICROBA), School of Department of Medicine, Emory University Microbiology and Universidad de Antioquia, School of Medicine, and Laboratories of Medell´ın, Colombia; Genetics, Regeneration and Microbial Pathogenesis, Department of Veterans Cancer Research Group, University Research AffairsMedicalCenter,Atlanta,GA,USA Centre (SIU), Universidad de Antioquia, Dalia Denapaite Department of Microbiology, Medell´ın,Colombia University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Pedro Garcı´a Departamento de Microbiolog´ıa Germany Molecular y Biolog´ıa de las Infecciones, Centro Hector D. de Paz Pediatric Infectious Diseases de Investigaciones Biolo´gicas, CSIC, Madrid, Research Group, Sant Joan de Deu Foundation, Spain; CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias HospitalSantJoandeDeu,Barcelona,Spain (CIBERES),Madrid,Spain Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos Laboratory of Pediatric NicolasGisch DivisionofBioanalyticalChemistry, Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Priority Area Infections, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz-Center for Medicine and Biosciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Borstel,Germany The Netherlands; Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Department of Laboratory Stephen B. Gordon Department of Clinical Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Nijmegen,TheNetherlands Liverpool,UK ix x LISTOFCONTRIBUTORS Nina Gratz Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Sylvia Kohler Department Genetics of Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Microorganisms,InterfacultyInstituteforGenetics TN,USA and Functional Genomics, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt AndersP.Hakansson DepartmentofMicrobiology UniversityGreifswald,Greifswald,Germany and Immunology, University at Buffalo, State LipNamLoh DepartmentofInfectiousDiseases,St. University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; The JudeChildren’sResearch Hospital, Memphis,TN, Witebsky Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and USA Immunology, University at Buffalo, State Rick Malley Kenneth McIntosh Chair in Pediatric University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA; New Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital, York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics HarvardMedicalSchool,Boston,MA,USA andLifeSciences,Buffalo,NY,USA Laura R. Marks Pediatric Infectious Diseases Regine Hakenbeck Department of Microbiology, Research Group, Sant Joan de Deu Foundation, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, HospitalSantJoandeDeu,Barcelona,Spain Germany Jonathan A. McCullers Department of Pediatrics, Sven Hammerschmidt Department Genetics of The University of Tennessee Health Science Microorganisms, Interfaculty Institute for Center,Memphis,TN,USA Geneticsand Functional Genomics, Ernst-Moritz- Lesley McGee Respiratory Diseases Branch, Arndt University Greifswald, Greifswald, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Germany Atlanta,GA,USA Peter W.M. Hermans Laboratory of Pediatric Jose´ Melo-Cristino Instituto de Microbiologia, Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Medicina,UniversidadedeLisboa,Lisboa,Portugal The Netherlands; Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, Nijmegen Centre for Timothy J. Mitchell School of Immunity and Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Infection,CollegeofMedicalandDentalSciences, MedicalCentre,Nijmegen,TheNetherlands UniversityofBirmingham,Birmingham,UK Juan A. Hermoso Department of Crystallography Renato Morona Research Centre for Infectious and Structural Biology, Instituto de Qu´ımica- Diseases, Department of Molecular and Cellular F´ısicaRocasolano,CSIC,Madrid,Spain Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University ofAdelaide,Adelaide,SA,Australia Markus Hilleringmann Department of Applied Carmen Mun˜oz-Almagro 1Pediatric Infectious SciencesandMechatronics,MunichUniversityof Diseases Research Group, Sant Joan de Deu AppliedSciences,Munich,Germany Foundation, Hospital Sant Joan de Deu, Anthony J. Infante Department of Pediatrics, The Barcelona, Spain; Molecular Microbiology University of Texas Health Science Center at San Department, University Hospital Sant Joan de Antonio,SanAntonio,TX,USA Deu,Barcelona,Spain Aras Kadioglu Department of Clinical Infection, Daniel R. Neill Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology & Immunology, Institute of Microbiology & Immunology, Institute of Infection & Global Health, University of Infection & Global Health, University of Liverpool,Liverpool,UK Liverpool,Liverpool,UK Colin C. Kietzman Department of Infectious Marco R. Oggioni Department of Genetics, Diseases, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, UniversityofLeicester,Leicester,UK Memphis,TN,USA Abiodun D. Ogunniyi Research Centre for Keith P. Klugman Hubert Department of Global Infectious Diseases, School of Molecular and Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, University,Atlanta,GA,USA Adelaide,SA,Australia xi LISTOFCONTRIBUTORS Melissa B. Oliver Department of Microbiology Kirsty R. Short Department of Viroscience, and Immunology, Wake Forest School of Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Medicine,Winston-Salem,NC,USA Netherlands; School of Biomedical Sciences, CarlosJ.Orihuela DepartmentofMicrobiology,The UniversityofQueensland,Brisbane,Australia UniversityofAlabamaatBirmingham,AL,USA Alistair J. Standish Research Centre for Infectious James C. Paton Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, Department of Molecular and Cellular Diseases, School of Molecular and Biomedical Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, ofAdelaide,Adelaide,SA,Australia Australia W. Edward Swords Department of Microbiology Inmaculada Pe´rez-Dorado Department of Crystal- and Immunology, Wake Forest School of lographyandStructuralBiology,InstitutodeQu´ı- Medicine,Winston-Salem,NC,USA mica-F´ısica Rocasolano, CSIC, Madrid, Spain; Herve´ Tettelin Department of Microbiology and DepartmentofLifeSciences,CentreforStructural Immunology, Institute for Genome Sciences, Biology, Imperial College London, South Ken- University of Maryland School of Medicine, sington,London,UK Baltimore,MD,USA Katharina Peters The Centre for Bacterial Cell Claudia Trappetti School of Molecular and Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Biomedical Science, University of Adelaide, Adelaide,Australia uponTyne,UK MathiasW.Pletz CenterforInfectiousDiseasesand Elaine Tuomanen Department of Infectious Infection Control and Center for Sepsis Care and Diseases, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Control,JenaUniversityHospital,Jena,Germany Memphis,TN,USA Ma´rioRamirez InstitutodeMicrobiologia,Instituto Mark van der Linden National Reference Center de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, for Streptococci, Department of Medical UniversidadedeLisboa,Lisboa,Portugal Microbiology, University Hospital (RWTH), Martin Rieger Department of Microbiology, Aachen,Germany University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Waldemar Vollmer The Centre for Bacterial Cell Germany Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Hazeline Roche-Hakansson Department of Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Microbiology and Immunology, University at uponTyne,UK Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, Ulrich Za¨hringer Division of Bioanalytical NY,USA Chemistry, Priority Area Infections, Research Jason W. Rosch Department of Infectious Center Borstel, Leibniz-Center for Medicine and Diseases, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Biosciences,Borstel,Germany Memphis,TN,USA Aldert Zomer Laboratory of Pediatric Infectious Yvonne Scha¨hle Department of Microbiology, Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Radboud University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Germany Netherlands; Centre for Molecular and Laura Selva Department of Microbiology and Biomolecular Informatics, Nijmegen Centre for Immunology, University at Buffalo, State Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University UniversityofNewYork,Buffalo,NY,USA MedicalCentre,Nijmegen,TheNetherlands Preface Streptococcuspneumoniae(thepneumococcus) morbidity and socioeconomic cost associated has been and continues to be among the with nonlethal pneumococcal infections is also chief causes of human misery and death. It very large. For these reasons, research on basic is capable of a broad swath of disease mani- pneumococcal biology, disease pathogenesis, festations, including otitis media, the more and interactions with the host continues to be serious community-acquired pneumonia, and vital for human health, and is probably under- devastating illnesses such as septicemia and supported given the global burden of pneumo- meningitis. As a commensal colonizer of the coccaldiseaseinbothdevelopingandindustrial nasopharynx, the pneumococcus is the pro- countries. totypical opportunistic pathogen, but it is The human effort to prevent pneumococcal also capable of causing disease in previ- disease has also directly and indirectly led to ously seemingly healthy individuals. While the some of our greatest biological discoveries. overall attack rate for the pneumococcus is Pneumococci were used to obtain evidence of low, so many individuals are colonized that geneticrecombinationbyGriffithin1928;iden- the global burden of disease is enormous. tification of DNA as the transforming principle Primarily affected are infants whose immune byAvery,Macleod,andMcCarthyin1944;and system has not yet developed the capacity to the discovery of antibody-mediated opsoniza- ward off infection, the elderly whose immune tion by Neufeld (1902, 1904, and 1910), the lat- system is waning, and those who are immuno- terbeing the basis of many of today’s vaccines. compromised. Most often age and immuno- The pneumococcus remains the subject of suppression overlap, with malnourished and continued intense research, with considerable smoke-exposed children and the elderly with progress having been made in our understand- multiple underlying medical conditions being ing of the molecular basis of pneumococcal at greatest risk. Epidemiological studies sug- biology. It is probably one of the most studied gest that the number of children who succumb singlebacterial pathogens,andrightlysogiven topneumococcaldiseaseexceeds650,000annu- its importance for human disease. Important ally worldwide. For the elderly, the case- discoveries that are relevant not just for the fatality rate for pneumococcal pneumonia is pneumococcus, but more broadly for bacterial 10(cid:1)15%, climbing approximately 10% with pathogens, continue today despite more than every decade of life after 65 years. As a result, 120 years of research on the pneumococcus. and despite effective antibiotics, the mortality For example, recent studies suggest that the rate for an 85-year-old with pneumococcal pneumococcus uses epigenetics to regulate the pneumonia is 30(cid:1)45%, reinforcing Sir William expression of its virulence genes, the first Osler’s early-twentieth-century observation that descriptionofthisforabacterium,andthatthe the pneumococcus is the “old man’s friend” pneumococcusmaycausecardiac damage dur- and that this pathogen is still highly relevant in ing pneumonia.In addition,thepneumococcus the twenty-first century. Importantly, the has been at the forefront of the bacterial xiii xiv PREFACE genome sequencing revolution, with sequences about what might be the important questions now available for thousands of strains, as well to address in order to better understand how as in investigating the cell biology of bacterial and why the pneumococcus is such a success- infection and defining the role of cellular ful pathogen. We have summarized some of immuneresponsesinpreventingmucosalinfec- these questions in Table 1. These are very tionsbyextracellularpathogens. muchourpersonalviewsofareasthatcouldbe In this textbook we present what we believe important for future research, and are not is an exciting, up-to-date description of the meant to be exhaustive; other questions we epidemiology, evolution, microbiology, patho- have not included or considered will be genesis, immunology, and cell biology of the equally important. Many of these questions are pneumococcus. We have strived to do so with probably self-evident to researchers in the afocusonthemolecularmechanisms responsi- field, but others may be less so. We hope that ble. The chapters are written by recognized you as a reader will find them stimulating and experts in their respective areas, and we are perhaps the basis of potential future research extremely thankful for their willingness to par- projects. Below, we have discussed in more ticipate. The sheer number of important new detail important aspects of pneumococcal biol- revelations in recent years about the biology of ogy underpinning why we feel some of these pneumococcus and the pathogenesis of pneu- potentialresearchquestionsareimportant. mococcal infection have made the need for a Much attention has been paid to the role of new textbook obvious. By presenting up-to- the polysaccharide capsule for pneumococcal date reviews of a wide range of different areas, biology, and deservedly so, as the capsule is this book allows the reader a thorough over- both the principal virulence determinant of the view of the biology of this important pathogen pneumococcus and the target antigen for cur- and its capacity to modulate the host immune rently licensed vaccines. The capsule protects response. The textbook is most obviously of the bacteria from entrapment in mucus during importance for researchers working on the colonization, opsonophagocytosis by neutro- pneumococcus,butitisalsoofinterestforany- phils and macrophages, and by killing by oneworkinginthefieldofbacterialpathogene- neutrophil-extracellulartraps.Althoughantibo- sis or involved in caring for patients with dies against the capsule are highly protective, pneumococcal infection. We hope that readers the pneumococcus has more than 90 biochemi- will obtain a greater appreciation of the tre- cally and immunologically distinct capsule mendous accomplishments made in under- types, providing a considerable amount of sur- standing how the pneumococcus causes face antigenic variation. Importantly, extensive disease,howitadaptstothehostenvironment, epidemiological and experimental evidence howweasthehostprotectourselvesagainstit, indicates that different capsule types have dis- and the challenges that face current and future tinct propensities to cause invasive disease. generations of investigators as we strive to Serotypeswithlowernumbers,thatis,1,2,3,4, fully understand the biology of the complex were those first isolated from patients as they interactions between the pneumococcus and are (or used to be) frequent causes of invasive ourselves. infections.Capsular serotypesdivide into three As editors, it has been our privilege to read groups: those where colonization events are eachchapterandthereforeobtainabroadover- more frequentlyassociated with invasive infec- view of what we know and, perhaps more tion (e.g., serotypes 1, 5, 7F, and 14); those that importantly, what we don’t know about the are less likely to cause invasive infection per pneumococcus. This has allowed us to think colonization event but are common causes of xv PREFACE TABLE1 ImportantQuestionsAboutStreptococcuspneumoniaeBiologyandPotentialAreasforFutureResearch Howdoescapsularserotypeaffectdifferentaspectsofpneumococcalbiology?Whatarethemolecularbasisforand relationshipsbetweencapsulestructure,underlyingproteinvirulencefactors,andfunctionalinteractionswiththehost? Whydoesthepneumococcushaveapolysaccharidecapsulewhenothernasopharyngealbacterialcommensalsseemto copeperfectlywellwithoutone? Whataretheeffectsoftherespiratorytractmicrobiomeondevelopmentofpneumococcalcolonizationanddisease? Dorespiratoryvirusesotherthaninfluenzaincreasepneumococcalvirulence?Ifso,bywhatmechanisms? Howcan“wetbiology”catchupwiththeexplosionofgenomesequencedata?Canwedevisemuchbettermethodsof rapidlyascertaininggenefunction? Whydoesthepneumococcushavesuchvariationingenomecontentandsuchalargeaccessorygenome?Whatarethe effectsofthisonpneumococcalbiology? Whatistheminimumgenomerequirementforabacteriumtobephenotypicallyapneumococcus? Whyisthepneumococcusafrequentcauseoffataldisease,whereasS.mitis(itsclosestgeneticrelation)isonlyarare causeofinfections? Whydoesthepneumococcushavesomanysurfaceadhesins?Isthisduetoredundancyortheneedforpneumococcito sequentiallyinteractwithhostcells? Whatisthefunctionalsignificanceofthelargedifferencesingenefunctionbetweenstrainsforsomegenes?Isthisa biologicallyimportanteffect,andifsohowcanweovercomeitsroleinconfoundingdataobtainedwithmutants? Howispneumococcalvirulenceregulated?Istherea“masterregulator”ofvirulence?Whatenvironmentalsignals stimulateaninvasivephenotype? Whatistheroleofredundancyofnutrientacquisition—forexample,carbohydratesandcations? Whydomanypneumococcalproteinvirulencefactorshavemultiplefunctions?Whichfunctionsareactuallyrelevant duringcolonizationanddisease? Howcanweexplainserotype-andstrain-dependentcolonization/virulencephenotypes?Whatisitaboutthe pneumococcalnasopharyngealcolonizationstrategythatdrivesdevelopmentofinvasivedisease? Mostmurineinfectiondatahavebeenusedinaninnateimmunesetting;whataretheeffectsofanadaptiveimmune responseonpneumococcalandhostdeterminantsofsuccessfulinfection? Whatarethemajorhostfactorscausingthemarkedbipolaragedistributionofpneumococcalinfection,withmostdisease affectinginfantsortheelderly? Whyispneumococcalinfectionmoreprevalentinpatientswithsomechronicdiseases? Whatarethemainantigentargetsandmechanismsofnaturallyacquiredadaptiveimmunitytothepneumococcus? Howdoepigeneticdifferencesinhumansinfluencetheirsusceptibilitytopneumococcalinfections,andwhicharethehost geneticdeterminantsfavoringinvasiveinfections? Whatarethemolecularmechanismsusedbypneumococcitobreachtherespiratoryepithelialbarrier,andwhichrouteis exploitedbythisextracellularpathogenduringactualdisease? Howdothephysiologyandgeneexpressionprofileofthepneumococcuschangeinthevariousenvironmentalconditions (i.e.,atdifferentanatomicalsites)thebacteriaencountersduringactualinfection? xvi PREFACE infections as they are highly prevalent as naso- to evade complement-mediated immunity by pharyngealcommensals(e.g.,6Aand19F);and expressing sufficient levels of proteins such as finally, those serotypes that are rare both as PspC (CbpA) or PspA, which bind the comple- commensals andascauses ofinfection (e.g.,88, ment inhibitor factor H or prevent bacterial 89,and90).Thesedatasuggestthatthephysio- recognition by C-reactive protein, respectively. logical properties of different capsular sero- Likewise, astrain with a capsularserotype that typeshaveconsiderableinfluenceonarangeof inhibits epithelial cell adhesion could express pneumococcal interactions with the host, greater levels of compensatory protein adhe- including those necessary for colonization or sins, often involved in recruiting host extracel- forbacterial survival during moreinvasivedis- lular matrix or serum proteins, to overcome ease. We have only really just begun to assess this deficit. This would explain why switching the molecular basis for how capsular serotype capsule types does not always result in a viru- affectsmultipleareasofpneumococcalbiology, lent strain, as the required complement of pro- and this remains an important area for future teins for that specific capsular serotype may research. not be encoded in the genome of the recipient However, capsular serotype alone does not strain. The compensatory properties addres- fully explain virulence, as evidenced by multi- sing the restrictions imposed by capsular type plestudiesdemonstratingthatisogeniccapsule may not always be dependent on a single pro- switching only sometimes confers virulence to tein, but instead could be characterized by the a previously nonvirulent strain, and in some necessity to reach a certain activity threshold. instances may even reduce virulence. A strik- For example, for a strain from a capsular sero- ing observation from genome sequencing data typethattendstopreventadhesion,highlevels is the sheer amount of genetic variation among of expression of a single powerful adhesin or pneumococcal strains, with a core genome the collective effects of lower levels of expres- that is estimated to be only about 50% of the sion of multiple adhesins could both overcome genome of a specific strain. Hence there are the limitations imposed by the capsule. With considerable differences in the protein content evolutionary pressure to minimize bacterial between strains that will contribute toward expression of superfluous products, a reason- capsular serotype-independent effects on able presumption is that pathogenic pneumo- pneumococcal biology; moreover, we do not cocci carry the minimal compensatory factors yet understand why there are such large varia- necessary to adequately complement their spe- tions in genetic content between pneumococci cific capsule type. As such, loss of any one pro- or how this may influence disease pathogene- tein virulence factor could be sufficient to drop sisandpneumococcalecology. thebacteriabelowtherequiredthresholdforvir- Multiple core and noncore protein virulence ulence and would lead to an attenuated mutant determinants such as the pore-forming toxin that is unable to cause severe disease during pneumolysin and adhesins like the pili, respec- infection. This model potentially explains why tively, have been investigated and shown to experimentaldeletionofanyoneofthemultiple have major roles during infection. We can sur- knownadhesinsorproteinsthatinhibitcomple- mise that the physiological properties and lim- ment activity tend to have a strong attenuated itations imposed on the pneumococcus by its phenotype in the laboratory. Overall, the exist- particular capsular serotype could be comple- ing data suggest that a complex interplay mented or overcome by protein determinants. between capsular type and the panoply of pro- For example, a strain expressing a capsular tein virulence determinants expressed by each serotypethatisrelativelyinefficientatblocking strain will combine to influence each strain’s complement deposition could boost its ability ability to cause invasive disease. Further effort

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