@article {1155078,
	title = {Definition of a bacterial virulence factor: sialylation of the group B streptococcal capsule},
	journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A},
	volume = {86},
	year = {1989},
	month = {1989 Nov},
	pages = {8983-7},
	abstract = {Sialylation of bacterial capsules has been proposed as an important virulence factor for several species of encapsulated pathogens, including group B Streptococcus. We have constructed a transposon mutant strain of type III group B Streptococcus that expresses a capsular polysaccharide differing from the wild type only in that the mutant strain{\textquoteright}s capsule lacks sialic acid. The mutant polysaccharide is antigenically identical to the capsular polysaccharide of type 14 Streptococcus pneumoniae, as predicted by the structures of the type III group B Streptococcus and S. pneumoniae polysaccharides. Loss of capsular sialic acid was associated with loss of virulence in the mutant strain in a neonatal rat model of lethal group B Streptococcus infection. These studies demonstrate directly that capsular sialic acid is a critical virulence determinant for type III group B Streptococcus and support the general hypothesis that surface sialylation aids pathogenic microorganisms in evading host defenses.},
	keywords = {Bacterial Toxins, DNA Transposable Elements, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Immunoblotting, Immunodiffusion, Microscopy, Electron, Mutation, Nucleic Acid Hybridization, Plasmids, Polysaccharides, Bacterial, Sialic Acids, Streptococcus agalactiae, Virulence},
	author = {Wessels, M R and Rubens, C E and Bened{\'\i}, V J and Kasper, D L}
}
