Brady Spencer
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology, Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology
Education
- BS, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harding University
- PhD, Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Research Disciplines
Biochemistry, Immunology, Infectious Diseases/Biodefense, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Neuroimmunology
Research Interests
Gram-positive pathogenesis; type VII secretion; impact of secreted effectors on host-pathogen interactions and immune responses
Research Description
The Spencer lab studies host-pathogen interactions of Gram-positive bacteria, focusing on the major neonatal pathobiont Group B Streptococcus (GBS). GBS can asymptomatically colonize the female genital tract, leading to transmission during pregnancy, and the neonatal GI tract, and both these niches serve as reservoirs for neonatal bacteremia and meningitis upon penetration of the blood-brain barrier. We are interested in how GBS factors promote colonization and systemic infection.
Specifically, we study the molecular mechanisms of the type VII secretion system (T7SS) in GBS and how its secreted proteins and toxins contribute to toxicity and inflammation during pathogenesis, as well as to mucosal colonization/niche establishment by outcompeting other bacteria and modulating the immune response. Our research is highly interdisciplinary, spanning pathogenesis, biochemistry, structural biology, immunology, reproductive and gastrointestinal biology, and the microbiome. We employ microbiological, molecular, cellular, biochemical, and immunological methods, as well as cellular and animal models, to examine the impact of the T7SS on GBS interactions with microbes and the host.
Selected Publications
2024
Joyce, L. R., Kim, S., Spencer, B. L., Christensen, P. M., Palmer, K. L., Guan, Z., . . . Doran, K. S. (2024). Streptococcus agalactiae
glycolipids promote virulence by thwarting immune cell clearance. Science Advances, 10(22). doi:10.1126/sciadv.adn7848
2023
Spencer, B. L., Job, A. M., Robertson, C. M., Hameed, Z. A., Serchejian, C., WiafeâKwakye, C. S., . . . Doran, K. S. (2023). Heterogeneity of the group B streptococcal type VII secretion system and influence on colonization of the female genital tract. Molecular Microbiology, 120(2), 258-275. doi:10.1111/mmi.15115
da Conceição Mendonça, J., Sobral Pena, J. M., dos Santos Macêdo, N., de Souza Rodrigues, D., de Oliveira, D. A., Spencer, B. L., . . . Nagao, P. E. (n.d.). Enhanced Vulnerability of Diabetic Mice to Hypervirulent Streptococcus agalactiae ST-17 Infection. Pathogens, 12(4), 580. doi:10.3390/pathogens12040580
Derk, J., Como, C. N., Jones, H. E., Joyce, L. R., Kim, S., Spencer, B. L., . . . Siegenthaler, J. A. (2023). Formation and function of the meningeal arachnoid barrier around the developing mouse brain. Developmental Cell, 58(8), 635-644.e4. doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2023.03.005
2022
Spencer, B. L., & Doran, K. S. (n.d.). Evolving understanding of the type VII secretion system in Gram-positive bacteria. PLOS Pathogens, 18(7), e1010680. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1010680
2021
Keogh, R. A., Spencer, B. L., Sorensen, H. M., Zapf, R. L., Briaud, P., Bonsall, A. E., . . . Carroll, R. K. (2021). Global Annotation, Expression Analysis, and Stability of Candidate sRNAs in Group B Streptococcus. mBio, 12(6). doi:10.1128/mbio.02803-21
Spencer, B. L., Tak, U., Mendonca, J. C., Nagao, P. E., Niederweis, M., & Doran, K. S. (2021). A type VII secretion system in Group B Streptococcus mediates cytotoxicity and virulence. PLOS PATHOGENS, 17(12). doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1010121
Brissac, T., MartÃnez, E., Kruckow, K. L., Riegler, A. N., Ganaie, F., Im, H., . . . Orihuela, C. J. (2021). Capsule Promotes Intracellular Survival and Vascular Endothelial Cell Translocation during Invasive Pneumococcal Disease. mBio, 12(5). doi:10.1128/mbio.02516-21
Spencer, B. L., Doran, K. S., & Burcham, L. R. (2021). The Virtual Streptococcal Seminar Series and Trainee Symposium: Adaptations of a Research Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 22(1). doi:10.1128/jmbe.v22i1.2479
Spencer, B. L., Chatterjee, A., Duerkop, B. A., Baker, C. J., & Doran, K. S. (2021). Complete Genome Sequence of Neonatal Clinical Group B Streptococcal Isolate CJB111. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 10(2). doi:10.1128/mra.01268-20
2020
Burcham, L. R., Le Breton, Y., Radin, J. N., Spencer, B. L., Deng, L., Hiron, A., . . . Doran, K. S. (2020). Identification of Zinc-Dependent Mechanisms Used by Group B
Streptococcus
To Overcome Calprotectin-Mediated Stress. mBio, 11(6). doi:10.1128/mbio.02302-20
Alhajjar, N., Chatterjee, A., Spencer, B. L., Burcham, L. R., Willett, J. L. E., Dunny, G. M., . . . Doran, K. S. (2020). Genome-Wide Mutagenesis Identifies Factors Involved in Enterococcus faecalis Vaginal Adherence and Persistence. Infection and Immunity, 88(10). doi:10.1128/iai.00270-20
2019
Burcham, L. R., Spencer, B. L., Keeler, L. R., Runft, D. L., Patras, K. A., Neely, M. N., & Doran, K. S. (n.d.). Determinants of Group B streptococcal virulence potential amongst vaginal clinical isolates from pregnant women. PLOS ONE, 14(12), e0226699. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0226699
Spencer, B. L., Deng, L., Patras, K. A., Burcham, Z. M., Sanches, G. F., Nagao, P. E., & Doran, K. S. (n.d.). Cas9 Contributes to Group B Streptococcal Colonization and Disease. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.01930
Deng, L., Spencer, B. L., Holmes, J. A., Mu, R., Rego, S., Weston, T. A., . . . Doran, K. S. (n.d.). The Group B Streptococcal surface antigen I/II protein, BspC, interacts with host vimentin to promote adherence to brain endothelium and inflammation during the pathogenesis of meningitis. PLOS Pathogens, 15(6), e1007848. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1007848
2018
Geno, K. A., Spencer, B. L., Bae, S., & Nahm, M. H. (n.d.). Ficolin-2 binds to serotype 35B pneumococcus as it does to serotypes 11A and 31, and these serotypes cause more infections in older adults than in children. PLOS ONE, 13(12), e0209657. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0209657
Deng, L., Mu, R., Weston, T. A., Spencer, B. L., Liles, R. P., & Doran, K. S. (2018). Characterization of a Two-Component System Transcriptional Regulator, LtdR, That Impacts Group B Streptococcal Colonization and Disease. Infection and Immunity, 86(7). doi:10.1128/iai.00822-17