Fig. 6.

Heterologous expression of VompC or VompA in E. coli confers the ability to bind collagen IV. (A) Coverslips were coated with collagen IV (Right) or BSA control (Left). Expression of VompC in E. coli significantly increases adhesion to collagen IV. Expression of VompA shows a moderate number of E. coli adhering to collagen IV but significantly less than the E. coli expressing VompC. (B) Quantitative analysis of the adherence of vomp recombinant E. coli strains to collagen IV. Data represent the mean ± SEM of three independent assays done in triplicate. *, P < 0.05, compared with E. coli control; **, P < 0.05, compared with both E. coli control and E. coli expressing VompA.