A Type-Specific Antigenic Protein Derived From the Staphylococcus

Abstract

The work reported in this communication was undertaken for the purpose of reinvestigating the general aspects of type specificity among staphylococci, and especially to attempt to obtain the type-specific fraction in a state more closely approximating its native condition through the utilization of milder chemical techniques than those hitherto employed.Two serological types of staphylococci have been differentiated by Julianelle and Wieghard (1934) on the basis of specific carbohydrates obtained by chemical fractionation of the organisms. Type A strains were found to be pathogenic and capable of fermenting mannitol, while type B was comprised of strains which failed to ferment mannitol and had little, if any, pathogenicity. Thompson and Khorazo (1937) have utilized a precipitin test for typing which is similar to that used by Lancefield (1933) in grouping the hemolytic streptococci. By means of this method they were able not only to identify strains of types A and B but also reported additional types C, BC, and O. These new types possessed cultural characteristics similar to type B strains and likewise had little pathogenicity as judged by source of isolation. While type C is clearly defined, the immunological characterization of types BC and O is not distinct, since in the case of type BC it depends upon similar amounts of precipitation with antisera of two different types and in the case of type O the criterion for typing is the failure to give significant precipitation with sera of types A, B, or C.Julianelle and Wieghard presented evidence of the different chemical compositions of the type A and type B carbohydrates and demonstrated their specific precipitation with rabbit sera prepared by injections of homologous vaccines. The nature of the type-specific precipitinogens in the crude extracts prepared by Thompson and Khorazo was not stated. These materials are known to be highly impure, but inspection of the extractive procedures indicates that the material could contain both carbohydrate and protein. It has been generally assumed, however, that the type-specific precipitinogen in the extract was a carbohydrate similar to that described by Julianelle and Wieghard.The methods employed by Julianelle and Wieghard for obtaining the specific carbohydrate require relatively drastic extraction of the organisms with hot acid, and although * This work was aided by a grant from the Louis Livingston Seaman Fund of the New York Academy of Medicine. 535onMay 11, 2018 jem.rupress.org Downloaded from http://doi.org/10.1084/jem.71.5.635 Published Online: 1 May, 1940 | Supp Info: 636PROTEIN D~.RIVED FROM STAPHYLOCOCCUS the type-specific substance as present in the intact bacteria is antigenic, the substance obtained by extraction is non-antigenic. The Study of Crude ExtractsIt was deemed advisable to restudy the precipitin reactions obtained by the method of Thompson and Khorazo. The purpose of this was twofold: First, to determine whether the correlation between serological type and the production of hemolysin and coagula...

Distribution of the Most Prevalent Spa Types among Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus around the World: A Review

“…Spa typing, which relies only on the assessment of the number of and sequence variation in repeats at the x region of the spa gene, exhibits excellent discriminatory power and has become a useful typing tool for the sake of its ease of performance, cheaper procedure, and standardized nomenclature (Frenay et al, 1996; Koreen et al, 2004; Strommenger et al, 2008; Bosch et al, 2015; Darban-Sarokhalil et al, 2016; O'Hara et al, 2016). The spa gene contains three distinct regions: Fc, X, and C (Verwey, 1940; Harmsen et al, 2003; Goudarzi et al, 2016b). The polymorphic X region, which encodes a part of the staphylococcal protein A (Spa), contains variations in the number of tandem repeats and the base sequence within each repeat.…”

Purification Systems Based on Bacterial Surface Proteins

“…The molecule was discovered already in 1940, when extraction of cells of the J13 strain of S. aureus yielded an antigenic fraction, which was found to consist of proteins (Verwey 1940) and the protein received its name in 1964 . It was observed in 1958 that SPA stimulated an immune response in rabbits, wherefore it was believed that SPA participated in an antigen-antibody interaction.…”

“…Among the identified staphylococcal and streptococcal immunoglobulin-binding surface proteins, SPA Oeding et al 1964;Verwey 1940) and SPG (Bjorck & Kronvall 1984) have been subjects for substantial research and have found several applications in the field of biotechnology. SPA exists in different forms in various strains of S. aureus, either as a cell wall component, or as a secreted form (Guss et al 1985;Lofdahl et al 1983).…”

Purification of Staphylococcal Antigens

“…No publications, however, arc concerned with the purification of J ensen's antigen A. In order to purify this antigen the initial steps in our method are in agreement with V e r w e y 's technique (23). Mechanical disintegration of the cells was preferred since this is apparently a more gentle procedure than boiling (10).…”