# Function of the type 7 secretion system in Group B Streptococcus

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · 2024 · $195,543

## Abstract

Streptococcus agalactiae, commonly known as Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is a member of
the vaginal and gut microbiome of up to 30% of healthy individuals. GBS can cause pneumonia,
meningitis, and sepsis in neonates when transmitted from mother to child. In addition, GBS can
cause a range of diseases in immunocompromised adults and the elderly, including urinary tract
infections, pneumonia, and meningitis. GBS has to compete with other microbiome members in
different niches of the human host. Other Firmicutes, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus
intermedius, and Enterococcus faecalis, employ the Type VII Secretion Systems (T7SS) for
intrabacterial or interbacterial antagonism. Analyses of GBS genomes revealed the presence of
putative T7SS loci. These gene clusters encode the core components of T7SS machinery as
well as putative secreted effectors/toxins. The goals of this application are to define the function
of GBS T7SS in vaginal colonization and to characterize the role of GBS T7SS in interbacterial
antagonism. We propose to assess the contribution of the GBS T7SS to GBS adherence,
invasion, and host responses of the vaginal epithelium using in vitro human vaginal cell lines
and mouse models of GBS vaginal colonization. We will also study the contribution of the GBS
T7SS to GBS competition with other microbes in vitro and in humanized microbiota mouse
models. The results of our study will significantly advance the understanding of the contribution
of GBS T7SS to interbacterial interactions that shape the outcome of the host infection.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10735898
- **Project number:** 5R21AI169231-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
- **Principal Investigator:** Konstantin V Korotkov
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $195,543
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-11-07 → 2025-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10735898

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10735898, Function of the type 7 secretion system in Group B Streptococcus (5R21AI169231-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10735898. Licensed CC0.

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