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. 2012 Jan 12;41(3):285–295. doi: 10.1007/s00249-011-0784-2

Fig. 6.

Fig. 6

Schematic illustration of the recoiling inhibitor mechanism on helix-like pili. A bacterium is attached to the host tissue by two identical pili adhering by specific adhesin–receptor bonds. The helix-like pili are depicted as springs, with their length approximately representing their degree of elongation. The arrows indicate the force each pilus sustains