In 2 h post-infection, wild-type strain showed significantly higher penetrability than ΔsssP1 in all Transwell chamber BBB models (Fig 3C) (P < 0.05; P < 0.01; P < 0.0001), suggesting that SssP1 affects the ability of bacteria to penetrate the BBB in vitro. Here, C5orf46 is linked to infection.