We determined whether the molecular structures through which force is applied to receptor-ligand pairs are tuned to optimize cell adhesion under flow. The adhesive tethers of our model system, Escherichia coli, are type I fimbriae, which are anchored to the outer membrane of most E. coli strains. They consist of a fimbrial rod (0.3-1.5 microm in length) built from a helically coiled structural ...

OBJECTIVES The global increase in ESBL-producing Escherichia coli is associated with the ST131 clonal group, especially its CTX-M-15-producing H30Rx subset. To understand the rapid spread of ESBL-producing E. coli in Japan, we investigated the molecular epidemiology and ESBL-associated genetic environments of Japanese ST131 isolates. METHODS Between 2001 and 2012, 1079 ESBL-producing E. coli ...

Escherichia coli F-18, an excellent colonizer of the streptomycin-treated mouse large intestine, produces type 1 pili. E. coli F-18 FimA-, type 1 pilus negative, and E. coli F-18 FimH-, type 1 pilus positive but adhesin negative, were constructed by bacteriophage P1 transduction of defective fimA and fimH genes from the E. coli K-12 strains ORN151 and ORN133, respectively, into E. coli F-18. Ad...

Functionalities which may be genetically programmed into a bacterium are limited by its range of possible activities and its sensory capabilities. Therefore, enhancing the bacterial sensory repertoire is a crucial step for expanded utility in potential biomedical, industrial or environmental applications. Using microarray and qRT-PCR analyses, we have investigated transcription in E. coli (stra...

Mechanical and conformational properties of type 1 fimbriae were evaluated on live bacterial cells by Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy (SMFS) and Dynamic Force Spectroscopy (DFS) in buffered solutions whose pH varied from 3 to 9. We evidenced that both fimbrial extension and fimbrial binding force to mannosylated-surface are modulated with changing the externally applied shear force and the s...

Gram-negative uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) bacteria are a causative pathogen of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Previously developed antivirulence inhibitors of the type 1 pilus adhesin, FimH, demonstrated oral activity in animal models of UTI but were found to have limited compound exposure due to the metabolic instability of the O-glycosidic bond (O-mannosides). Herein, we disclose ...

Inhibiting antibodies targeting receptor-binding pockets in proteins is a major focus in the development of vaccines and in antibody-based therapeutic strategies. Here, by using a common mannose-specific fimbrial adhesin of Escherichia coli, FimH, we demonstrate that locking the adhesin in a low-binding conformation induces the production of binding pocket-specific, adhesion-inhibiting antibodi...

Whereas the majority of pathogenic Salmonella serovars are capable of infecting many different animal species, typically producing a self-limited gastroenteritis, serovars with narrow host-specificity exhibit increased virulence and their infections frequently result in fatal systemic diseases. In our study, a genetic and functional analysis of the mannose-specific type 1 fimbrial adhesin FimH ...

BACKGROUND Escherichia coli strains adhere to the normally sterile human uroepithelium using type 1 pili, that are long, hairy surface organelles exposing a mannose-binding FimH adhesin at the tip. A small percentage of adhered bacteria can successfully invade bladder cells, presumably via pathways mediated by the high-mannosylated uroplakin-Ia and alpha3beta1 integrins found throughout the uro...