Specificity of binding of a strain of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to Gal alpha 1----4Gal-containing glycosphingolipids.
A strain of Escherichia coli originally isolated from urine of a patient with acute pyelonephritis was studied in detail for binding to glycosphingolipids. Bacteria labeled metabolically with [14C]glucose were layered over a glycolipid chromatogram and bound bacteria were detected by autoradiography. The detection was down to a few ng of glycolipid (pmol level) under these assay conditions. At a test level of 500 ng all glycolipids (more than a dozen molecular species analyzed) with Gal alpha 1----4Gal as an internal or terminal part bound the bacteria strongly while glycolipids known to lack this sequence were negative. Conformational analysis using hard sphere calculations including the exo-anomeric effect showed a bend in the saccharide chain at this disaccharide with a largely hydrophobic surface of the convex side, probably being part of the binding epitope. Mixtures of glycolipids isolated from a human ureter scraping and from urinary sediments bound bacteria in the 2- to 7-sugar interval. Thus, this infectious strain of E. coli recognizes glycolipids being present in epithelial cells lining the urinary tract.
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D000818:Animals; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D004285:Dogs; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D005690:Galactose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006028:Glycosphingolipids / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011704:Pyelonephritis / Q000382:microbiology; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D013379:Substrate Specificity
D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D006028:Glycosphingolipids; D005690:Galactose