| Title |
Molecular Characterization of Pneumococcal Surface Protein A (PspA), Serotype Distribution and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae Strains Isolated from Pakistan
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Infectious Diseases and Therapy, March 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s40121-018-0195-0 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Faidad Khan, Mohsin Ahmad Khan, Nadeem Ahmed, Muhammad Islam Khan, Hamid Bashir, Saad Tahir, Ahmad Usman Zafar |
| Abstract |
Pakistan has one of the highest burdens of pneumococcal diseases in the world, but unfortunately studies in this demanding research area are limited in the region. Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) is the next generation pneumococcal vaccine candidate as the protein locates on the Streptococcus pneumoniae surface. Its gene, pspA, might be encoded by all pneumococci, and the protein has proven immunogenicity. The molecular characterization of PspA, pneumococcal serotype distribution and antibiotic susceptibility are important for regional diversity studies. In this study, we examined 38 pneumococcal isolates from pneumococcal diseased (pneumonia/meningitis) patients blood or cerebrospinal fluid. There were no specific inclusion or exclusion criteria, but all the individuals [ages 1 month to 12 years (male/female)] had undergone no antibiotic treatment in at least the past 3 months and had no vaccination history. We investigated the serotype distribution, antibiotic susceptibility, prevalence of the PspA family and its active domain's fusion, expression and antigenicity. Our finding shows that serotype 19F is the most prevalent (23.6%) followed by 18B (15.78%) (non-vaccine type) in all isolated pneumococcal strains. All strains were susceptible to chloramphenicol and linezolid, while 80% were resistant to gentamycin. Genotyping revealed that ~ 80% (N = 31/38) of pneumococcal strains produce PspA belonging to family 2 and clade 3. We further selected three active domains of PspA (family 2 and clade 3) by in silico analysis, merged together into a fusion gene for expression study, and its antigenicity was analyzed by Western blotting. Serotypes 19F and 18B (non-vaccine type) are the most prevalent in the Pakistani pneumococcal isolates. The PspA family 2 proteins produced by Pakistani pneumococcal isolates have high sequence homologies with each other and differ from those produced by strains isolated in the rest of the world. The PspA fusion peptide had a proven antigenic response in western blotting, with no considerable correlation among pneumococcal serotypes, antibiotic susceptibility and PspA family/clade distribution. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 2 | 67% |
| United States | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 2 | 67% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 33% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 30 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 30 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 13% |
| Researcher | 4 | 13% |
| Student > Bachelor | 3 | 10% |
| Lecturer | 2 | 7% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 2 | 7% |
| Other | 3 | 10% |
| Unknown | 12 | 40% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 5 | 17% |
| Immunology and Microbiology | 5 | 17% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 2 | 7% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 1 | 3% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 2 | 7% |
| Unknown | 14 | 47% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 10 March 2018.
All research outputs
#14,378,457
of 23,026,672 outputs
Outputs from Infectious Diseases and Therapy
#369
of 699 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#188,959
of 332,332 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Infectious Diseases and Therapy
#9
of 12 outputs
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