Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1982 Sep;37(3):1191–1199. doi: 10.1128/iai.37.3.1191-1199.1982

Zinc and bacterial adherence.

B Sugarman, L R Epps, W A Stenback
PMCID: PMC347665  PMID: 6127314

Abstract

Zinc significantly enhances the ability of piliated Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria to attach to HeLa cells. This effect is related to the concentration of zinc and degree of bacterial piliation, and is not present with unpiliated organisms. Bacterial viability is not necessary for this effect, and sulfhydryl blockers decrease the response. These data suggest that zinc can bind to bacterial pili and augment bacterial adherence; in this manner, zinc may act as a virulence factor.

Full text

PDF
1191

Images in this article

1193Image
on p.1193
1195Image
on p.1195
1196Image
on p.1196
1197Image
on p.1197

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Beachey E. H. Bacterial adherence: adhesin-receptor interactions mediating the attachment of bacteria to mucosal surface. J Infect Dis. 1981 Mar;143(3):325–345. doi: 10.1093/infdis/143.3.325. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beisel W. R. Trace element in infectious processes. Med Clin North Am. 1976 Jul;60(4):831–849. doi: 10.1016/s0025-7125(16)31864-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chvapil M. New aspects in the biological role of zinc: a stabilizer of macromolecules and biological membranes. Life Sci. 1973 Oct 16;13(8):1041–1049. doi: 10.1016/0024-3205(73)90372-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Collier H. B. Binding of Zn2+ by buffers. Clin Chem. 1979 Mar;25(3):495–496. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cousins R. J. Regulation of zinc absorption: role of intracellular ligands. Am J Clin Nutr. 1979 Feb;32(2):339–345. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/32.2.339. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Damper P. D., Epstein W. Role of the membrane potential in bacterial resistance to aminoglycoside antibiotics. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1981 Dec;20(6):803–808. doi: 10.1128/aac.20.6.803. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Falchuk K. H. Effect of acute disease and ACTH on serum zinc proteins. N Engl J Med. 1977 May 19;296(20):1129–1134. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197705192962001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hirashima A., Childs G., Inouye M. Differential inhibitory effects of antibiotics on the biosynthesis of envelope proteins of Escherichia coli. J Mol Biol. 1973 Sep 15;79(2):373–389. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(73)90012-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. KAGI J. H., VALLEE B. L. Metallothionein: a cadmium and zinc-containign protein from equine renal cortex. II. Physico-chemical properties. J Biol Chem. 1961 Sep;236:2435–2442. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Korhonen T. K., Nurmiaho E. L., Ranta H., Edén C. S. New Method for isolation of immunologically pure pili from Escherichia coli. Infect Immun. 1980 Feb;27(2):569–575. doi: 10.1128/iai.27.2.569-575.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kozel T. R., Reiss E., Cherniak R. Concomitant but not causal association between surface charge and inhibition of phagocytosis by cryptococcal polysaccharide. Infect Immun. 1980 Aug;29(2):295–300. doi: 10.1128/iai.29.2.295-300.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Ou J. T., Anderson T. F. Effect of Zn2+ on bacterial conjugation: inhibition of mating pair formation. J Bacteriol. 1972 Jul;111(1):177–185. doi: 10.1128/jb.111.1.177-185.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Ou J. T. Effect of Zn2+ on bacterial conjugation: increase in ability of F- cells to form mating pairs. J Bacteriol. 1973 Aug;115(2):648–654. doi: 10.1128/jb.115.2.648-654.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Riordan J. F. Biochemistry of zinc. Med Clin North Am. 1976 Jul;60(4):661–674. doi: 10.1016/s0025-7125(16)31851-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Salit I. E., Gotschlich E. C. Hemagglutination by purified type I Escherichia coli pili. J Exp Med. 1977 Nov 1;146(5):1169–1181. doi: 10.1084/jem.146.5.1169. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Schnaitman C. A. Effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, Triton X-100, and lysozyme on the morphology and chemical composition of isolate cell walls of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1971 Oct;108(1):553–563. doi: 10.1128/jb.108.1.553-563.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sugarman B. Attachment of bacteria to mammalian surfaces. Infection. 1980;8(4):132–141. doi: 10.1007/BF01639119. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sugarman B. Effect of heavy metals on bacterial adherence. J Med Microbiol. 1980 May;13(2):351–354. doi: 10.1099/00222615-13-2-351. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Sugarman B., Epps L. R. Effect of estrogens on bacterial adherence to HeLa cells. Infect Immun. 1982 Feb;35(2):633–638. doi: 10.1128/iai.35.2.633-638.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. TZAGOLOFF H., PRATT D. THE INITIAL STEPS IN INFECTION WITH COLIPHAGE M13. Virology. 1964 Nov;24:372–380. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(64)90174-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tylewska S., Hjertén S., Wadström T. Effect of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics on the adhesion of Streptococcus pyogenes to pharyngeal epithelial cells. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1981 Nov;20(5):563–566. doi: 10.1128/aac.20.5.563. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES