Affects of N-terminal variation in the SeM protein of Streptococcus equi on antibody and fibrinogen binding

The clonal Streptococcus equi causes equine strangles, a highly contagious suppurative lymphadenopathy and rhinopharyngitis. An important virulence factor and vaccine component, the antiphagocytic fibrinogen binding SeM of S. equi is a surface anchored fibrillar protein. Two recent studies of N. American, Japanese and European isolates have revealed a high frequency of N-terminal amino acid variation in SeM of S. equi CF32 that suggests this region of the protein is subject to immunologic selection pressure. The aims of the present study were firstly to map regions of SeM reactive with convalescent equine IgG and IgA and stimulatory for lymph node cells and secondly to determine effects of N-terminal variation on the functionality of SeM. Variation did not significantly affect fibrinogen binding or susceptibility of S. equi to an opsonic equine serum. Linear epitopes reactive with convalescent IgG and mucosal IgA were concentrated toward the conserved center of SeM. However, IgA but not IgG from every horse reacted with at least one peptide that contained variable sequence. Lymph node cells (CD4+) from horses immunized with SeM were strongly responsive to a peptide (alphaalpha36-138) encoding the entire variable region. SeM (CF32) specific mouse Mab 04D11 which reacted strongly with this larger peptide but not with shorter peptides within that sequence reacted strongly with whole cells of S. equi CF32 but only weakly with cells of any of 14 isolates of S. equi expressing different variants of SeM. These results in combination suggest that N-terminal variation alters a conformational epitope of significance in mucosal IgA and systemic T cell responses but does not affect antibody mediated phagocytosis and killing.