SUMMARY Group A Streptococcus (GAS), also known as Streptococcus pyogenes, is a
clinically well-adapted human pathogen that harbors rich virulence determinants …

Neutrophils are the most abundant innate immune cells, making up 50%–70% of all
leukocytes. Neutrophils are the “first responders” of host defense, preventing infections by …

Gram-negative bacteria express a number of sophisticated secretion systems to transport
virulence factors across the cell envelope, including the type II secretion (T2S) system …

Phosphorylation relays are a major mechanism by which bacteria alter transcription in
response to environmental signals, but understanding of the functional consequences of …

Group A streptococci produce a wide variety of secreted extracellular products, many of
which are considered virulence factors. The number of these potential virulence factors …

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a bioactive lipid mediator which serves as a reciprocal
messenger between the immune and nervous systems. PAF, a pluripotent inflammatory …

To identify sequences with a role in microbial pathogenesis, we assessed the adequacy of
their annotation by existing controlled vocabularies and sequence databases. Our goal was …

Phenotypic heterogeneity is commonly observed between isolates of a given pathogen.
Epidemiological analyses have identified that some serotypes of the group AS treptococcus …

Currently there is no commercial Group A Streptococcus (GAS; S. pyogenes) vaccine
available. The development of safe GAS vaccines is challenging, researchers are …

Regulation of neutrophil activity is critical for immune evasion among extracellular
pathogens, yet the mechanisms by which many bacteria disrupt phagocyte function remain …