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Updated: Sep 30, 2026

Microscopy-based Assays for High-throughput Screening of Host Factors Involved in Brucella Infection of Hela Cells
Published on: August 5, 2016
Brucella sp. bind to sialic acid residues on human and animal red blood cells
Rosa del C Rocha-Gracia1, Elsa I Castañeda-Roldán, Silvia Giono-Cerezo
1Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Microbiológicas, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Edificio 76, Complejo de Ciencias, Cd. Universitaria, Pue. C.P. 72000, Puebla, Mexico
Abstract:
We report that Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis agglutinate human (A+ and B+), hamster and rabbit erythrocytes, a heretofore undescribed feature in this genus. This activity was associated with a 29-kDa surface protein (SP29) that bound selectively to these erythrocytes and this binding was inhibited by rabbit anti-SP29 antibodies. Hemagglutination was inhibited by pretreatment of erythrocytes with neuraminidase and by preincubation of B. abortus with chondroitin sulfate, N-acetylneuraminic acid and N-acetylneuramin-lactose.

