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. 1986 Dec 1;27(4):520–530. doi: 10.1186/BF03548131

Haemagglutinating and Hydrophobic Properties of Corynebacterium (Eubacterium) Suis

Hæmagglutinerende og hydrofobe egenskaber hos Corynebacterium (Eubacterium) suis

Jens Laurits Larsen 1,✉, Peter Høgh 1, Kari Houind-Hougen 1
PMCID: PMC8189409  PMID: 2886018

Abstract

Corynebacterium (Eubacterium) suis strains from boars and sows haemagglutinated erythrocytes of different animal species (calf, guinea pig, poultry, pig, and human).

The haemaigglutination was man nose resistant (MR) and was neither inhibited by L-fucose nor D-galactose. The hydrophobicity measured by salt aggregation test (0.1–0.9 mol/1 (NH4)2SO4) and the hydrophobic interaction chromatography test (90 % retention in octyl sepharose) together with the haemagglutinating activity, indicated the presence of fimbriae on the bacteria. The haemagglutinating and hydrophobic properties were heat-sensitive (60°C for 10 min) suggestive of the presence of a protein structure. Two types of fimbria-tion were demonstrated by electron microscopy. Fetuin and glyco^ protein inhibited the haemagglutination, whereas porcine mucin was without any effect. These results indicate that branched glycoproteins might be important receptors for these fimbriae.

The pathogenic aspects of C. suis are discussed, based on recent acquired knowledge of the effect of other pyelonephritogenic bacteria.

Keywords: fimbriae, haemagglutination, pyelonephritis.

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Acknowledgments

The very skilful technical assistance of Merete Mørk Jensen is greatly appreciated. We also thank Ebert Müller for the photographic work, and Jane Røken for the typing of the manuscript.

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