Tuesday December 21, from 12.00 to 13.00
Common seminar IBMM-IMI with Pierre Smeesters, ULB, Bacterial Genetics and Physiology Laboratory, Charleroi
(this seminar will be followed by a lunch from 13.00 to 14.00)

"Toward a functional classification of Group A Streptococcus M proteins ?"

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a common paediatric pathogen which is responsible for more than 500,000 deaths each year. The M protein is a major virulence factor constituting the basis for molecular typing (emm typing) and serving as epitope for vaccine development. The M protein has numerous binding partners, and these interactions may assist the bacteria in evading host immune response. Although extensive diversity of this protein was highlighted by different GAS typing schemes, most structural and functional information were obtained from a limited number of types. A large survey including 1,300 representative M proteins isolated worldwide has been set up to evaluate M diversity and provide novel clues for functional analysis of M domains. Based on these phylogenetic data, several M representative variants will be selected and human protein binding profile will be carried out. Complement deposition and phagocytose resistance will be assessed in vitro. Correlation between these functional analysis and disease outcome will be tested. The clinical relevance of these data will be assessed on a large GAS epidemiological collection.