Inaug.-Diss.--Rostock. / Lebenslauf. "Literatur-übersicht": 1. p. at end.

Inaug.-Diss.--Bern. / "Literatur": p. 26-27.

Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Diss. (sammanfattning). Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2005. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

No / Streptococcus equi is the causative agent of strangles, a prevalent and highly contagious disease of horses. Despite the animal suffering and economic burden associated with strangles, little is known about the molecular basis of S. equi virulence. Here we have investigated the contributions of a specific lipoprotein and the general lipoprotein processing pathway to the abilities of S. equi to colonize equine epithelial tissues in vitro and to cause disease in both a mouse model and the natural host in vivo. Colonization of air interface organ cultures after they were inoculated with a mutant strain deficient in the maturase lipoprotein ( prtM138-213, with a deletion of nucleotides 138 to 213) was significantly less than that for cultures infected with wild-type S. equi strain 4047 or a mutant strain that was unable to lipidate preprolipoproteins ( lgt190-685). Moreover, mucus production was significantly greater in both wild-type-infected and lgt190-685-infected organ cultures. Both mutants were significantly attenuated compared with the wild-type strain in a mouse model of strangles, although 2 of 30 mice infected with the lgt190-685 mutant did still exhibit signs of disease. In contrast, only the prtM138-213 mutant was significantly attenuated in a pony infection study, with 0 of 5 infected ponies exhibiting pathological signs of strangles compared with 4 of 4 infected with the wild-type and 3 of 5 infected with the lgt190-685 mutant. We believe that this is the first study to evaluate the contribution of lipoproteins to the virulence of a gram-positive pathogen in its natural host. These data suggest that the PrtM lipoprotein is a potential vaccine candidate, and further investigation of its activity and its substrate(s) are warranted.

No / Streptococcus equi and Streptococcus zooepidemicus are major etiological agents of upper and lower airway disease in horses. Despite the considerable animal suffering and economic burden associated with these diseases, the factors that contribute to the virulence of these equine pathogens have not been extensively investigated. Here we demonstrate the presence of a homologue of the Streptococcus pneumoniae PsaA protein in both of these equine pathogens. Inhibition of signal peptide processing by the antibiotic globomycin confirmed the lipoprotein nature of the mature proteins, and surface exposure was confirmed by their release from intact cells by mild trypsinolysis. / Project grant 056042 from The Wellcome Trust.

Lic.-avh. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2005. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Streptococcus equi is the etiological agent of strangles. Opportunistic agents from the same group are frequently isolated from horses with strangles and may induce mistake diagnostic. Among the subspecies of S. equi the phenotypic characteristics are almost undistinguishable; however the pathogenic potential is widely differentiated. The objective of this study was to determine the phenotypic and molecular characteristics of S. equi isolates obtained from samples of clinical cases of strangles by sequencing the hsp60 gene. By phenotypical assays 26 strains of Streptococcus sp. were identified, 18 were characterized as S. equi subsp. equi, five as S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus, two as S. dysgalactiae subsp., equisimilis, and one as Streptococcus sp.; However using molecular characterization, 21 isolates were identified as S. equi subsp. equi and five as S. equi subsp. zooepidemicus. The analysis of the hsp60 sequence is a good discriminatory tool and can be useful as a method of differentiation, principally for the characterization of atypical isolates / Streptococcus equi subesp. equi é o agente etiológico da adenite eqüina. Outros agentes pertencentes ao mesmo grupo, como S. equi subesp. zooepidemicus são freqüentemente isolados de animais com sinais de adenite, podendo originar diagnósticos equivocados. As diferenças bioquímicas são pequenas para as subespécies de S. equi, enquanto o potencial virulento é muito diferenciado, havendo, portanto, necessidade de uma correta diferenciação entre os isolados. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo realizar a comparação fenotípica e molecular de isolados de S. equi, obtidos de casos de adenite eqüina, pela análise de seqüências parciais do gene hsp60. De 26 amostras de Streptococcus sp. analisadas, 18 foram bioquimicamente identificadas como S. equi subesp. equi, cinco como S. equi subesp. zooepidemicus, dois isolados S. dysgalactiae subesp. equisimilis e para um isolado não foi possível determinar a espécie. Pela análise das seqüências, 21 isolados foram identificados como S. equi subesp. equi e cinco como S. equi subesp. zooepidemicus. Dentre os isolados utilizados, quatro apresentaram divergência entre os métodos utilizados. A análise de seqüências do gene hsp60 possui um bom poder discriminatório e pode ser um importante método auxiliar na diferenciação de isolados de Streptococcus equi, especialmente para isolados com padrão atípico de fermentação de açucares

Master of Science / Department of Clinical Science / Elizabeth Davis / Background: While there is a commercially-available vaccine for Streptococcus equi subsp. equi licensed for the intranasal route of administration, some equine practitioners are administering this vaccine orally despite a lack of evidence for its efficacy by this route of administration. Objectives: To compare systemic and local immune responses following intranasal or oral administration of the USDA-approved, live-attenuated Streptococcus equi subspecies equi vaccine (Pinnacle IN®, Zoetis, Florham Park, New Jersey). Study Design: Experimental, randomized clinical trial Methods: Eight healthy horses with low Streptococcus equi M protein (SeM) titers (<1:1600) were randomly assigned to an intranasal or oral two-vaccine series. SeM-specific serum immunoglobulins G (IgG) and A (IgA) and nasal secretion IgA were assessed using a commercially-available ELISA (Equine Diagnostic Solutions, LLC, Lexington, Kentucky) and a novel magnetic microsphere assay utilizing fluorescence. A general linear mixed models approach was used for statistical data analysis. Results: As expected, intranasal vaccinates showed substantial increases in both serum SeM-specific IgG and IgA levels post-vaccination (P=0.0006 and P=0.007, respectively). Oral vaccinates showed an increase in serum SeM-specific IgG post-vaccination (P=0.0150), though only one-third the magnitude of intranasal vaccinates. Oral vaccinates showed no evidence of change in SeM-specific IgA post-vaccination (P=0.15). Main Limitations: Changes in mucosal antibody responses were not identified in this study which may be related to small change in antibody response, timing of sample collection, or method of nasal secretion collection. Conclusions: Results indicate that intranasal or oral vaccine administration resulted in increased serum SeM-specific IgG, though the magnitude of response differed between routes.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2006. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.