01% gelatin (opsonization buffer). The bacteria treated with hyperimune or control mice sera were harvested and incubated with 4 × 105 peritoneal cells at 37 °C for 45 min with shaking (220 rpm). Ten-fold dilutions of the samples were performed and 10 μL aliquots of each dilution were cultured on blood agar plates. The count live colonies were performed as previously described [33]. After 20 min, slides of the M1 strain opsonophagocitic assay were prepared by cytospin, stained with Instant-Prov (Newprov, Brazil), subsequently analyzed by light microscopy using an Axion Vision Zeiss Imager A1 and photographed by Axion Vision software (Zeiss, Germany).

Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal–Wallis test. Heart tissue was obtained from the lysate of a postmortem normal human mitral valve, separated Caspase-independent apoptosis by SDS–PAGE and blotted onto nitrocellulose membranes GW-572016 nmr [31] and [32]. The blots were blocked with Tris-buffered

saline containing 5% skim milk. The membrane was sequentially treated with a pool (n = 6) of BALB/c or Swiss immunized mice sera and anti-mouse IgG alkaline phosphatase and revealed with NBT-BCIP solution (Invitrogen, USA). We observed that anti-StreptInCor antibodies from the BALB/c mice sera pool were able to cross-recognize both the M5 and M1 proteins in total protein extracts from each strain (Fig. 1). The anti-StreptInCor antibodies from Swiss mice were able to neutralize the M1, M5, M12, M22 and M87 strains by cross-recognizing the M protein on the bacterial surface with a Median Fluorescence Intensity (MFI) 2 or 3 times greater than the MFI of control sera (Fig. 2). Anti-StreptInCor antibodies from BALB/c and Swiss mice were able to promote opsonophagocytosis and death of the M1, M5, M12, M22 and M87 strains (Fig. 3a and b, respectively). The amino acid sequences alignment of the M protein C-terminal region of the strains used in this study had, on average, 72% identity with the StreptInCor amino acid sequence (Fig. 3c). The M1, M6 and M12 strains had an additional block of 7 amino acids, while the M87 strain contained two fewer amino

acids than the StreptInCor sequence. M1 strain was killed in peritoneal cells by phagocytosis 20 min after the opsonization assay as observed by optical microscopy (Fig. 4a–d). No autoreactive whatever antibodies against human heart mitral valve protein extracts were observed (Fig. 5). The development of a vaccine against multiple S. pyogenes strains without causing autoimmunity will bring numerous benefits to human health. A vaccine would prevent streptococcal infections and sequelae and could be more effective and longer-lasting than the currently used treatment. In addition to have broad coverage against strains, a vaccine should promote the production of neutralizing and opsonophagocytic antibodies, which are the body’s major defense lines against extracellular microorganisms. In the 70 and 80s several models of anti S.