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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Aug 1.
Published in final edited form as: Cell Microbiol. 2016 Feb 26;18(8):1043–1055. doi: 10.1111/cmi.12575

Figure 3.

Figure 3

NTHI Tfp mediated adherence to polarized epithelial cells via interaction with ICAM1. Compared to the parent strain, the pilA-deficient mutant was significantly less adherent to polarized primary respiratory tract epithelial cells, and adherence was largely restored upon complementation of pilA (black bars). Pre-incubation of NHBEs with rsPilA to block accessibility of NTHI Tfp to ICAM1 resulted in dose-dependent reduction in NTHI adherence (light grey bars). Admixing rsPilA with purified ICAM1 prior to application on to NHBEs mitigated the blockade effect when used at a 3:1 molar ratio (medium grey bars), a result not replicated by incubation of rsPilA with BSA at the same molar ratio (dark grey bars). Whereas transduction of polarized epithelial cells with scrambled sequence siRNA did not influence NTHI adherence, a significant reduction in NTHI adherence to ICAM1 siRNA transfected cells was observed. Results shown as CFU NTHI/ ml and significance relative to the parent strain indicated with asterisks: * P≤ 0.05, ** P≤ 0.01, *** P≤ 0.001.