Disease relevance of srtB

• Two genes encoding putative sortases, termed srtA and srtB, were identified in the genome of the intracellular pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes [1].
• OBJECTIVE: The role that the surface proteins anchored by the srtA and srtB gene products play in the ability of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria to establish infection was investigated in several animal models [2].
• METHODS: Wild-type and corresponding mutants with deletions of the srtA and/or srtB genes were used in murine acute lethal infection, septic arthritis, kidney infection and rat endocarditis models [2].
• Together these results indicate that sortase B (srtB) plays a contributing role during the pathogenesis of staphylococcal infections, whereas sortase A (srtA) is an essential virulence factor for the establishment of septic arthritis [3].

High impact information on srtB

• Purified SrtB cleaves NPQTN-bearing peptides in vitro, and a srtB mutant is defective in the persistence of animal infections. srtB is part of an iron-regulated locus called iron-responsive surface determinants (isd), which also contains a ferrichrome transporter and surface proteins with NPQTN and LPXTG motifs [4].
• Effect of srtA and srtB gene expression on the virulence of Staphylococcus aureus in animal models of infection [2].
• This phenotype was complemented by srtB in trans [5].
• We conclude that srtA and srtB encode sortase enzymes required for anchoring different subsets of proteins to the cell wall [5].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of srtB

• Mean bacterial counts in cardiac vegetations were significantly higher for the wild-type and srtB- strain compared with the srtA- and srtA-B- strains [2].

References