Roles of the plasminogen activator streptokinase and the plasminogen-associated M protein in an experimental model for streptococcal impetigo
Primary infection by group A streptococci (GAS) takes place at either the throat or skin of the human host, often leading to pharyngitis or impetigo, respectively. Many GAS strains differ in their preference for throat and skin tissue sites. Previous epidemiological findings show that many of the strains displaying strong tropism for the skin have a high-affinity binding site for plasminogen, loca
