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. 1994 Dec 6;91(25):11889–11893. doi: 10.1073/pnas.91.25.11889

The Gal(alpha 1-4)Gal-specific tip adhesin of Escherichia coli P-fimbriae is needed for pyelonephritis to occur in the normal urinary tract.

J A Roberts 1, B I Marklund 1, D Ilver 1, D Haslam 1, M B Kaack 1, G Baskin 1, M Louis 1, R Möllby 1, J Winberg 1, S Normark 1
PMCID: PMC45341  PMID: 7991552

Abstract

Nonobstructive acute pyelonephritis in humans is most often caused by P-fimbriated Escherichia coli. P-fimbriae are heteropolymeric fibers carrying a Gal(alpha 1-4)Gal-specific PapG adhesin at its distal end. The pyelonephritic strain DS17 expresses P-fimbriae from a single gene cluster. A mutant strain, DS17-8, which expresses P-fimbriae tacking the PapG adhesin, was constructed by allelic replacement introducing a 1-bp deletion early in the papG gene. In cynomolgus monkeys, DS17 and DS17-8 were equally able to cause bladder infection, whereas only the wild-type strain DS17 could cause pyelonephritis as monitored by bacteriological, functional, and histopathological criteria. Since DS17, but not DS17-8, adheres to renal tissue, these data underscore the critical role of microbial adherence to host tissues in infectious disease and strongly suggest that the PapG tip adhesin of P-fimbriae is essential in the pathogenesis of human kidney infection.

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Selected References

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