{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,4]],"date-time":"2026-06-04T01:45:02Z","timestamp":1780537502217,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,8]],"date-time":"2025-05-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746662400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Bacterial vaginosis (BV), a form of vaginal dysbiosis, is associated with numerous adverse reproductive and obstetric outcomes. <jats:italic>Gardnerella<\/jats:italic> spp. are among the key bacteria identified in most BV cases. The formation of a polymicrobial <jats:italic>Gardnerella<\/jats:italic>-dominated biofilm on the vaginal epithelium is a characteristic diagnostic marker of BV. <jats:italic>Gardnerella<\/jats:italic> colonization and biofilm formation indicate a significant adhesion potential, the determinants of which remain unexplored. In this initial approach to identify <jats:italic>Gardnerella<\/jats:italic> adhesins, we analyzed the Cna protein located on the <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic> ATCC 14018 cell surface as determined previously. Structure modeling of Cna (designated Grd Cna) revealed that the protein contains N2 and N3 domains with an immunoglobulin (IgG)-like fold, which shows structural homology to the corresponding domains in SdrD and UafA proteins of the microbial surface component recognizing adhesive matrix molecules (MSCRAMMs) family. A single B domain shares structural similarity with the corresponding domain of Sdr proteins. The R region is rich in PKD repeats, while the C-terminal contains a non-canonical LVNTG cell wall sorting motif. The <jats:italic>cna<\/jats:italic> gene was predominantly detected in <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic> isolates but was absent in other commonly identified <jats:italic>Gardnerella<\/jats:italic> species isolates. The recombinant Grd Cna protein binds dose-dependently to human fibrinogen but does not interact with fibronectin or collagen types I, III, or IV. Cna-positive <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic> cells adhered to immobilized fibrinogen; however, recombinant Cna did not inhibit this binding, suggesting that Cna may not be a major adhesin mediating <jats:italic>G. vaginalis<\/jats:italic> adherence to this ECM component.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fcimb.2025.1556232","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,8]],"date-time":"2025-05-08T05:26:49Z","timestamp":1746682009000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Gardnerella fibrinogen-binding protein as a candidate adherence factor"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Aist\u0117","family":"Bulavait\u0117","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Justas","family":"Dapk\u016bnas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raminta","family":"Re\u0161kevi\u010di\u016bt\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Indr\u0117","family":"Dalg\u0117dien\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lukas","family":"Valan\u010dauskas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lina","family":"Baranauskien\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Milda","family":"Ple\u010dkaityt\u0117","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"493","DOI":"10.1038\/s41586-024-07487-w","article-title":"Accurate structure prediction of biomolecular interactions with AlphaFold 3","volume":"630","author":"Abramson","year":"2024","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"34","DOI":"10.1186\/s12866-018-1179-7","article-title":"Genetic variability in the sdrD gene in Staphylococcus aureus from healthy nasal carriers","volume":"18","author":"Ajayi","year":"2018","journal-title":"BMC Microbiol."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"593","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiu131","article-title":"Gardnerella vaginalis outcompetes 29 other bacterial species isolated from patients with bacterial vaginosis, using an in vitro biofilm formation model","volume":"210","author":"Alves","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. 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