Characteristics of spontaneously agglutinating Proteus mirabilis strains from bacteriuric patients.
Out of 210 Proteus mirabilis isolates from bacteriuric patients a total of eight spontaneously agglutinating strains were found. SDS-PAGE analysis of their lipopolysaccharides (LPS), the separation of polysaccharide fractions (PS) by gel filtration, and chemical characterization of PSs were performed. Out of the eight strains one S form and one mutant classified as Rc were detected. The remaining six strains were recognized as Ra and intermediate forms. When tested in a hematogenous infection model in mice, the P. mirabilis Rc mutant survived in kidneys for at least two weeks, while the Re mutant used as control was eliminated within 20 h after the challenge. These data indicated that strains of P. mirabilis may be pathogenic even if they express very incomplete LPS.
Institute of Microbiology, University of Lodz, Poland.
D
D
Krajewska-Pietrasik
P
P
Larsson
K
K
Zych
J
J
Wlodarczyk
W
W
Gromska
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000371:Agglutination; D000818:Animals; D001437:Bacteriuria / Q000382:microbiology*; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D008875:Middle Aged; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011513:Proteus mirabilis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology; D013045:Species Specificity; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology
D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial