Christian Spoerry (Umeå University, Dept. of Molecular Biology) will defend his thesis entitled “Streptococcal Immunoglobulin degrading Enzymes of the IdeS and IgdE Family” 1 June 2017 at 1 p.m. Venue: Major Groove, Building 6L, Norrlands Universitetssjukhus.
Opponent: Professor Heiko Herwald, Dept. of Clinical Sciences, Division of Infection Medicine, Biomedical Center (BMC), Lund University, Sweden
Bacteria of the genus Streptococcus are common asymptomatic colonisers of humans and animals. As opportunistic pathogens they can however, depending on their host’s immune status and other circumstances, cause mild to very severe infections. Streptococci are highly intertwined with specific host species, but can also cause zoonosis or anthroponosis in more uncommon hosts. Prolonged and reoccurring infections require immune evasion strategies to circumvent detection and eradication by the host’s immune defence. A substantial part of the immune defence against bacterial pathogens is mediated by immunoglobulins. This thesis is based on work to identify and characterise immunoglobulin degrading enzymes secreted by different Streptococcus species as a means to sabotage and evade antibody-mediated immune responses.