title: The Gal(alpha 1-4)Gal-specific tip adhesin of Escherichia coli P-fimbriae is needed for pyelonephritis to occur in the normal urinary tract.
abstract: Nonobstructive acute pyelonephritis in humans is most often caused by P-fimbriated Escherichia coli. P-fimbriae are heteropolymeric fibers carrying a Gal(alpha 1-4)Gal-specific PapG adhesin at its distal end. The pyelonephritic strain DS17 expresses P-fimbriae from a single gene cluster. A mutant strain, DS17-8, which expresses P-fimbriae tacking the PapG adhesin, was constructed by allelic replacement introducing a 1-bp deletion early in the papG gene. In cynomolgus monkeys, DS17 and DS17-8 were equally able to cause bladder infection, whereas only the wild-type strain DS17 could cause pyelonephritis as monitored by bacteriological, functional, and histopathological criteria. Since DS17, but not DS17-8, adheres to renal tissue, these data underscore the critical role of microbial adherence to host tissues in infectious disease and strongly suggest that the PapG tip adhesin of P-fimbriae is essential in the pathogenesis of human kidney infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Tulane Regional Primate Center, Covington, LA 70433.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Marklund
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ilver
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Haslam
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Kaack
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baskin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Möllby
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Winberg
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Normark
mesh_terms: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007668:Kidney / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D011704:Pyelonephritis / Q000382:microbiology*; D014551:Urinary Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli