title: P-fimbriae in the presence of anti-PapA antibodies: new insight of antibodies action against pathogens.
abstract: Uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli establish urinary tract infections by attaching to host epithelial cells using adhesive organelles called fimbriae. Fimbriae are helix-like structures with a remarkable adaptability, offering safeguarding for bacteria exposed to changing fluid forces in the urinary tract. We challenged this property of P-fimbriae by cross-linking their subunits with shaft-specific antibodies and measuring the corresponding force response at a single organelle level. Our data show compromised extension and rewinding of P-fimbriae in the presence of antibodies and reduced fimbrial elasticity, which are important properties of fimbriae contributing to the ability of bacteria to cause urinary tract infections. The reduced elasticity found by cross-linking fimbrial subunits could thus be another assignment for antibodies; in addition to marking bacteria as foreign, antibodies physically compromise fimbrial function. We suggest that our assay and results will be a starting point for further investigations aimed at inhibiting sustained bacterial adhesion by antibodies.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Physics, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden [2].
authors.forename: Narges
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mortezaei
authors.forename: Bhupender
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bullitt
authors.forename: Bernt Eric
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Uhlin
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andersson
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000276:immunology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; C078802:AtpA protein, E coli; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins