title: Roles of soluble fibronectin and beta 1 integrin receptors in the binding of Mycobacterium leprae to nasal epithelial cells.
abstract: The mechanisms by which Mycobacterium leprae invades the human host are presently unknown. We investigated the ability of M. leprae to bind to human RPMI 2650 cells, a human nasal septal epithelial cell line, using both microscopic observation and an ELISA technique. The results demonstrated that M. leprae adheres to nasal cells after binding to soluble fibronectin. Furthermore, it was observed that M. leprae could bind to the beta 1 chain of the integrins in the absence of serum or mucus. These results demonstrated that M. leprae uses fibronectin and fibronectin receptors on the surface of epithelial cells to bind and possibly invade the nasal epithelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Kuzell Institute for Arthritis and Infectious Diseases, California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, San Francisco 94115.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Byrd
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gelber
authors.forename: L E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Bermudez
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000382:microbiology; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins / Q000502:physiology*; D007918:Leprosy / Q000635:transmission; D008024:Ligands; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009166:Mycobacterium leprae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000166:cytology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000494:pharmacology; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005353:Fibronectins; D016023:Integrins; D008024:Ligands; D009842:Oligopeptides; C047981:arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid