The Gal(alpha 1-4)Gal-specific tip adhesin of Escherichia coli P-fimbriae is needed for pyelonephritis to occur in the normal urinary tract

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994 Dec 6;91(25):11889-93. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.25.11889.

Abstract

Nonobstructive acute pyelonephritis in humans is most often caused by P-fimbriated Escherichia coli. P-fimbriae are heteropolymeric fibers carrying a Gal(alpha 1-4)Gal-specific PapG adhesin at its distal end. The pyelonephritic strain DS17 expresses P-fimbriae from a single gene cluster. A mutant strain, DS17-8, which expresses P-fimbriae tacking the PapG adhesin, was constructed by allelic replacement introducing a 1-bp deletion early in the papG gene. In cynomolgus monkeys, DS17 and DS17-8 were equally able to cause bladder infection, whereas only the wild-type strain DS17 could cause pyelonephritis as monitored by bacteriological, functional, and histopathological criteria. Since DS17, but not DS17-8, adheres to renal tissue, these data underscore the critical role of microbial adherence to host tissues in infectious disease and strongly suggest that the PapG tip adhesin of P-fimbriae is essential in the pathogenesis of human kidney infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adhesins, Escherichia coli / analysis
  • Adhesins, Escherichia coli / chemistry
  • Adhesins, Escherichia coli / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Carbohydrate Conformation
  • Carbohydrate Sequence
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / pathogenicity*
  • Escherichia coli / physiology
  • Female
  • Fimbriae, Bacterial / physiology*
  • Fimbriae, Bacterial / ultrastructure
  • Genes, Bacterial
  • Kidney / pathology
  • Kidney / virology*
  • Macaca fascicularis
  • Microscopy, Immunoelectron
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Multigene Family
  • Pyelonephritis / microbiology*
  • Urinary Tract / microbiology*
  • Urinary Tract Infections / microbiology*

Substances

  • Adhesins, Escherichia coli