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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Food Safety and Enteric Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #313934
Title: Curli modulates adherence of Escherichia coli O157 to bovine recto-anal junction squamous epithelial cells

Author
item Kudva, Indira
item GIRON, JORGE - Universidad De Las Americas, Puebla (MEXICO)
item Carter, Michelle
item Sharma, Vijay
item Arthur, Terrance

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/5/2015
Publication Date: 6/1/2015
Citation: Kudva, I.T., Giron, J.A., Carter, M.Q., Sharma, V.K., Arthur, T.M. 2015. Curli modulates adherence of Escherichia coli O157 to bovine recto-anal junction squamous epithelial cells [abstract]. American Society for Microbiology. Abstract No. 1557.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Our recent studies have shown that Intimin and the Locus of Enterocyte Effacement-encoded proteins do not play a role in Escherichia coli O157 (O157) adherence to the bovine recto-anal junction squamous epithelial cells (RSE) cells. Hence, to define factors that play a contributory role, we investigated the role of curli, a fimbrial adhesin implicated in adherence to various fomites, plant, human and animal epithelial cells, in O157 adherence to RSE cells. Specifically, we examined (i) diverse strains of O157; (ii) curli variants of O157 strains; (iii) isogenic curli-deletion derivatives of O157; and (iv) inhibition of O157 adherence using antisera experimentally generated against this adhesin. Comparison of results of these experiments conducted under stringent conditions with those obtained using HEp2 cells, interestingly, suggested a modulating role for curli in O157 adherence to RSE cells in contrast to HEp2 cells. Our studies showed that curli did not appear to contribute to O157 adherence to RSE cells; however, the presence of specific anti-curli antibodies, as well as absence of curli, enhanced O157-RSE interactions, thus alluding to a tempering effect of curli on O157 interactions with these cells. This observation, which is at variance with its reported role in O157 adherence to other cell types, is likely to have implications for development of new anti-adherence modalities.