Identification of a proteomic biomarker associated with invasive ST1, serotype VI Group B Streptococcus by MALDI-TOF MS

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is an important invasive pathogen in neonates, pregnant women and the elderly. Serotype VI GBS, which has been rarely reported globally, has emerged as a significant pathogen in Asia. However, traditional serologic latex agglutination (LA) methods may fail to type isolates that lack of or low expression of CPS. Methods: A total of 104 GBS strains were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS. Multiplex PCR and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) were also performed to confirm their strains. The protein markers were purified with gel electrophoresis and LC-column, followed by identification with nanoLC-MS/MS analysis. Results: Protein peak of 6251-Da was appeared in most (20/24, 92%) serotypes VI (94% ST-1 or single locus variant of ST-1), and protein peak of 6891-Da was appeared in most serotypes III (15/18, 83%) and lb (19/23, 83%) strains. The protein peak of 6251-Da and 6891-Da were identified as CsbD family protein and UPF0337 protein gbs0600, respectively. Conclusions: The protein peak of 6251 Da may play a role of emergence of ST-1 clone, serotype VI GBS in central Taiwan and could be useful in rapid identifying invasive serotype VI from III isolates, which is hardly achieved by LA. Copyright (C) 2018, Taiwan Society of Microbiology. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.