Identification and characterization of a porcine-specific transferrin receptor in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

All six strains of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae screened for the ability to use different transferrins as a source of iron for growth were capable of using porcine but not human, bovine, or avian transferrins. A specific binding activity for porcine transferrin (pTf) was expressed in cells grown in the presence of specific iron-chelators and was repressed by addition of excess iron. Two iron-repressible outer-membrane proteins of 105 and 56 kD were specifically isolated from serotype 1, 2 and 7 strains of A. pleuropneumoniae by an affinity-isolation method using biotinylated porcine transferrin and streptavidin-agarose.