Aggregative adherence of uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis to cultured epithelial cells.
Proteus mirabilis is an important cause of urinary tract infection (UTI) in patients with complicated urinary tracts. Thirty-five strains of P. mirabilis isolated from UTI were examined for the adherence capacity to epithelial cells. All isolates displayed the aggregative adherence (AA) to HEp-2 cells, a phenotype similarly presented in LLC-MK(2) cells. Biofilm formation on polystyrene was also observed in all strains. The mannose-resistant Proteus-like fimbriae (MR/P), Type I fimbriae and AAF/I, II and III fimbriae of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli were searched by the presence of their respective adhesin-encoding genes. Only the MR/P fimbrial subunits encoding genes mrpA and mrpH were detected in all isolates, as well as MR/P expression. A mutation in mrpA demonstrated that MR/P is involved in aggregative adherence to HEp-2 cells, as well as in biofilm formation. However, these phenotypes are multifactorial, because the mrpA mutation reduced but did not abolish both phenotypes. The present results reinforce the importance of MR/P as a virulence factor in P. mirabilis due to its association with AA and biofilm formation, which is an important step for the establishment of UTI in catheterized patients.
Rocha
Sérgio P D
SP
Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Paraná, Brazil, and Laboratório de Bacteriologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil.
Elias
Waldir P
WP
Cianciarullo
Aurora M
AM
Menezes
Márcio A
MA
Nara
Júlia M
JM
Piazza
Roxane M F
RM
Silva
Michele R L
MR
Moreira
Cristiano G
CG
Pelayo
Jacinta S
JS
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D002460:Cell Line; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011137:Polystyrenes; D011513:Proteus mirabilis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology*
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C119575:MrpH protein, Proteus mirabilis; D011137:Polystyrenes; C079120:mrpA protein, Proteus mirabilis; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins