Purification and characterization of Aeromonas sobria Ae24 pili: a possible new colonization factor.
Pili of Aeromonas sobria Ae24 were purified and characterized. The molecular mass of the pilin was estimated to be about 19 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The Ae24 pili were electrophoretically distinguishable from previously reported Aeromonas hydrophila Ae6 W pili and A. sobria Ae1 pili, although all three had indistinguishable morphology and shared a high degree of homology in the N-terminal amino acid sequences. Strain Ae24 and its purified pili adhered to rabbit intestine and agglutinated human and rabbit erythrocytes. Hemagglutination was inhibited by D-galactose and D-mannose, but not by L-fucose. Organisms pretreated with Fab fraction of the antipilus antibody failed to adhere to the intestine. Organisms did not adhere to intestine pretreated with the purified pili. These findings suggest that the pili are a colonization factor of A. sobria Ae24 for the rabbit intestine, and that the receptor is galactose- and mannose-containing structure.
Department of Bacteriology, University of the Ryukyus, School of Medicine, Okinawa, Japan.
A
A
Hokama
M
M
Iwanaga
D000333:Aeromonas / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000494:pharmacology; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004912:Erythrocytes; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial; D006384:Hemagglutination / Q000187:drug effects; D006388:Hemagglutinins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000276:immunology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011817:Rabbits; D012756:Sheep; D013045:Species Specificity; D014774:Virulence
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D002241:Carbohydrates; D006388:Hemagglutinins; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins