Plenary Speaker 21st Lancefield International Symposium for Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases 2022

Attenuating GBS Hemolysin (#34)

Lakshmi Rajagopal 1
  1. Seattle Children's Research Institute/University of WA, Seattle, WA, United States

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is one of the leading causes of neonatal infections and an emerging cause of severe disease in nonpregnant adults. An important virulence factor of GBS is the β-hemolysin, also known as the hemolytic pigment or granadaene. We have shown that the hemolytic activity of GBS can be attributed to the ornithine rhamnolipid polyene or granadaene, which permeabilizes host cell membranes leading to cytotoxicity of many immune cells. Granadaene is also released from GBS via membrane vesicles. I will describe our efforts to attenuate the function of hemolysin during pathogenesis.