title: Protein E of Haemophilus influenzae is a ubiquitous highly conserved adhesin.
abstract: Protein E (PE) of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is involved in adhesion and activation of epithelial cells. A total of 186 clinical NTHi isolates, encapsulated H. influenzae, and culture collection strains were analyzed. PE was highly conserved in both NTHi and encapsulated H. influenzae (96.9%-100% identity without the signal peptide). PE also existed in other members of the genus Pasteurellaceae. The epithelial cell binding region (amino acids 84-108) was completely conserved. Phylogenetic analysis of the pe sequence separated Haemophilus species into 2 separate clusters. Importantly, PE was expressed in 98.4% of all NTHi (126 isolates) independently of the growth phase.
authors.affiliation: Medical Microbiology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Malmo, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Birendra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brant
authors.forename: Mogens
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kilian
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hallström
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Riesbeck
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial