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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Microscopy-based Assays for High-throughput Screening of Host Factors Involved in Brucella Infection of Hela Cells
Published on: August 5, 2016
Identification of a new virulence factor, BvfA, in Brucella suis
Jean-Philippe Lavigne1, Gilles Patey, Felix J Sangari
1Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U431, Faculté de Médecine, Avenue Kennedy, 30900 Nimes, France.
Abstract:
We report the identification of BvfA (for Brucella virulence factor A), a small periplasmic protein unique to the genus Brucella, which is essential for the virulence of Brucella suis. A BvfA knockout mutant was highly attenuated both in in vitro macrophage infection assays and in vivo in the murine model of brucellosis. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis with green fluorescent protein fusions showed that the expression of bvfA is induced within macrophages by phagosome acidification and coregulated with the B. suis virB operon, suggesting that it too may play a role in the establishment of the intracellular replication niche.
