title: Adherence of pilus- Opa+ gonococci to epithelial cells in vitro involves heparan sulfate.
abstract: Neisseria gonorrhoeae attaches to host epithelial cells via pili and opacity-associated (Opa) outer membrane proteins. Pilus- gonococci (Gc) of strain MS11 adhere to both human and nonhuman cells, but only when particular Opa proteins are expressed; OpaA+ variants adhere best, OpaC+ variants are next best, and the seven other Opa+ variants adhere poorly or not at all. The adherence of OpaA+ Gc to Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells is inhibited by heparin or heparan sulfate (HS), but not by chondroitin sulfate. OpaA+ Gc do not adhere to CHO cells devoid of HS proteoglycans; low concentrations of heparin restore OpaA+ Gc adherence to these HS-deficient CHO cells and high concentrations inhibit it. 3H-heparin binding to whole Gc parallels their adherence abilities (OpaA+ > OpaC+ > OpaH+ >> Opas B, D, E, F, G, I = Opa- = 0). Opa proteins separated by SDS-PAGE also bind 3H-heparin. These data suggest that adherence of pilus-, Opa+ Gc involves HS-proteoglycan of eukaryotic cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Microbial Structure and Function, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Belland
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Swanson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016466:CHO Cells; D006224:Cricetinae; D004848:Epithelium / Q000382:microbiology; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D006493:Heparin / Q000494:pharmacology; D006497:Heparan Sulfate / Q000378:metabolism*; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D011485:Protein Binding; D011489:Protein Denaturation
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D006493:Heparin; D006497:Heparan Sulfate; C050308:opacity proteins