Study of Genotypes andvirB4Secretion Gene ofBartonella henselaeStrains from Patients with Clinically Defined Cat Scratch Disease

Abstract

Bartonella henselae is the causative agent of cat scratch disease (CSD), which usually presents as a selflimiting lymphadenopathy. Occasionally, the bacteria will spread and be responsible for tissue and visceral involvement. Two B. henselae genotypes (genotypes I and II) have been described to be responsible for uncomplicated CSD on the basis of 16S rRNA sequence analysis. A type IV secretion system (T4SS) similar to the virulence-associated VirB system of Agrobacterium tumefaciens was recently identified in the B. henselae Houston-1 genotype I strain. We studied the correlations of the B. henselae genotypes with the clinical presentations and with the presence of T4SS. Isolates originated from CSD patients whose lymph nodes were prospectively analyzed. B. henselae genotype I was identified in 13 of 42 patients (30%). Among these, two teenage twins presented with hepatosplenic CSD and one immunocompetent adult presented with osteomyelitis. Genotype II was detected in 28 of 42 patients (67%), all of whom presented with uncomplicated CSD. The last patient was infected with both genotypes. T4SS was studied by PCR amplification of the virB4 gene. Amplification of virB4 codons 146 to 256, 273 to 357, and 480 to 537 enabled us to detect 66, 90, and 100% of the B. henselae isolates, respectively. Sequence analysis revealed sequence variations that correlated with genotype distribution. Our studies suggest that B. henselae genotype I strains harbor virB4 genes that are different from those harbored by genotype II strains and that genotype I strains might be more pathogenic.

Prevalence of serum antibodies against Bartonella species in the serum of cats with or without uveitis

“…It may relate to the host response to the organism (Resto-Ruiz et al 2003). However, it also may relate to the strain of B henselae as it appears that some strains are more pathogenic than others (Woestyn et al 2004). Co-infection with other agents may also play a role in some cases.…”

Molecular typing of Bartonella henselae DNA extracted from human clinical specimens and cat isolates in Japan

“…Isolation of B. henselae from patients is extremely difficult (La Scola & Raoult, 1999). The diagnosis of CSD relies on clinical manifestations, history of contact with cats, serology, or the detection of bacterial DNA in tissue specimens by PCR (Regnery et al, 1992;Anderson et al, 1994;Murakami et al, 2002;Woestyn et al, 2004;Tsuneoka & Tsukahara, 2006). Bartonella henselae strains are divided into two 16S rRNA (rrs) genotypes (16S type I/Houston-1 and 16S type II/Marseille), which correspond to two distinct human serotypes (Drancourt et al, 1996;La Scola et al, 2002).…”

Draft Genome Sequences of 12 Feline Bartonella henselae Isolates

“…Genotype I has been associated with more severe clinical manifestations than those induced by genotype II in humans. The third genotype (I/II strains with both type I and type II 16S rRNA) is the least common ( 4 , 5 ). In order to more thoroughly investigate the genetic relationships between the different genotypes, we sequenced 12 feline strains from different geographical origins.…”