Renal scarring by mannose-sensitive adhesin of Escherichia coli type 1 pili.
Most Escherichia coli isolates from patients with pyelonephritis possess both pap (mannose-resistant) pili and type 1 (mannose-sensitive) pili. In the experimental pyelonephritis model of rats, the mannose-sensitive-piliated strain caused severe renal scarring, whereas the mannose-resistant or nonpiliated strain did not. Type 1 pili consist of several subunits; one major subunit and other minor subunits. One of the minor subunits, adhesin, is responsible for mannose-sensitive adhesion to eukaryotic cells. The role of adhesin was examined in scar formation after infection with a newly constructed adhesin-deficient mutant which has pilus structure but cannot agglutinate guinea pig erythrocytes. A mutant plasmid, pYMZ84, containing a deletion in the adhesin gene of type 1 pili, failed to agglutinate guinea pig erythrocytes even though the bacteria expressed pili morphologically indistinguishable from those produced by plasmid pSH2, carrying the intact genes for the type 1 pili. E. coli harboring pYMZ84 caused negligible or minimal renal scarring, whereas E. coli harboring pSH2 caused severe renal scarring in rats. These data suggest that the mannose-sensitive adhesin of type 1 pili stimulates renal scarring.
Mizunoe
Y
Y
Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Matsumoto
T
T
Sakumoto
M
M
Kubo
S
S
Mochida
O
O
Sakamoto
Y
Y
Kumazawa
J
J
D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D007668:Kidney / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D011704:Pyelonephritis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli