title: The binding of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pili to glycosphingolipids is a tip-associated event involving the C-terminal region of the structural pilin subunit.
abstract: Pili are one of the adhesins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that mediate adherence to epithelial cell-surface receptors. The pili of P. aeruginosa strains PAK and PAO were examined and found to bind gangliotetraosyl ceramide (asialo-GM1) and, to a lesser extend, II3N-acetylneuraminosylgangliotetraosyl ceramide (GM1) in solid-phase binding assays. Asialo-GM1, but not GM1, inhibited both PAK and PAO pili binding to immobilized asialo-GM1 on the microtitre plate. PAO pili competitively inhibited PAK pili binding to asialo-GM1, suggesting the presence of a structurally similar receptor-binding domain in both pilus types. The interaction between asialo-GM1 and pili occurs at the pilus tip as asialo-GM1 coated colloidal gold only decorates the tip of purified pili. Three sets of evidence suggest that the C-terminal disulphide-bonded region of the Pseudomonas pilin is exposed at the tip of the pilus: (i) immunocytochemical studies indicate that P. aeruginosa pili have a basal-tip structural differentiation where the monoclonal antibody (mAb) PK3B recognizes an antigenic epitope displayed only on the basal ends of pili (produced by shearing) while the mAb PK99H, whose antigenic epitope resides in residues 134-140 (Wong et al., 1992), binds only to the tip of PAK pili; (ii) synthetic peptides, PAK(128-144)ox-OH and PAO(128-144)ox-OH, which correspond to the C-terminal disulphide-bonded region of Pseudomonas pilin are able to bind to asialo-GM1 and inhibit the binding of pili to the glycolipid; (iii) PK99H was shown to block PAK pilus binding to asialo-GM1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Synthetic Peptides Inc., University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Sheth
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sherburne
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Paranchych
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Hodges
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lingwood
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Krivan
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Irvin
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism*; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside / Q000378:metabolism*; D037102:Lectins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D037102:Lectins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; C038692:adhesin, Pseudomonas; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D005677:G(M1) Ganglioside; C018835:asialo GM1 ganglioside