AUTHOR=Sumitomo Tomoko , Mori Yasushi , Nakamura Yuumi , Honda-Ogawa Mariko , Nakagawa Seitaro , Yamaguchi Masaya , Matsue Hiroyuki , Terao Yutaka , Nakata Masanobu , Kawabata Shigetada TITLE=Streptococcal Cysteine Protease-Mediated Cleavage of Desmogleins Is Involved in the Pathogenesis of Cutaneous Infection JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology VOLUME=8 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2018.00010 DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2018.00010 ISSN=2235-2988 ABSTRACT=

Streptococcus pyogenes is responsible for a wide variety of cutaneous infections ranging from superficial impetigo to fulminant invasive necrotizing fasciitis. Dysfunction of desmosomes is associated with the pathogenesis of cutaneous diseases. We identified streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B (SpeB) as a proteolytic factor that cleaves the extracellular domains of desmoglein 1 and 3. In an epicutaneous infection model, lesional skin infected with an speB deletion mutant were significantly smaller as compared to those caused by the wild-type strain. Furthermore, immunohistological analysis indicated cleavage of desmogleins that developed around the invasion site of the wild-type strain. In contrast, the speB mutant was preferentially found on the epidermis surface layer. Taken together, our findings provide evidence that SpeB-mediated degradation of desmosomes has a pathogenic role in development of S. pyogenes cutaneous infection.