Niche-restricted pathogens are evolutionarily linked with the specific biological fluids that are encountered during infection. Neisseria gonorrhoeae causes the genital infection gonorrhea and is exposed to seminal fluid during sexual transmission. Treatment of N. gonorrhoeae with seminal plasma or purified semen proteins lactoferrin, serum albumin, and prostate-specific antigen each facilitate...

The attachment of gonococci to mucosal surfaces is of primary importance in their interactions with the genito-urinary tract of the human host. This process may be, in part, mediated by pili, which are proteinaceous appendages emanating from the bacterial cell surface. Observations by Kellogg et al. (1) suggested that certain colonial morphological phenotypes are associated with virulence. Subs...

The Gram-negative bacterium Neisseria meningitidis asymptomatically colonizes the throat of 10 to 30% of the human population, but throat colonization can also act as the port of entry to the blood (septicemia) and then the brain (meningitis). Colonization is mediated by filamentous organelles referred to as type IV pili, which allow the formation of bacterial aggregates associated with host ce...

Figure 25-4 Bacterial shapes and cell-surface structures Bacteria are classified into three different shapes: (A) spheres (cocci), (B) rods (bacilli), and (C) spiral cells (spirochetes). (D) They are also classified as Gram-positive or Gram-negative. Bacteria such as Streptococci and Staphylococci have a single membrane and a thick cell wall made of cross-linked peptidoglycan. They retain the v...

The role of hydrophobicity in the attachment of enteropathogens to gastrointestinal mucosa is controversial. In vitro binding of Escherichia coli RDEC-1 to rabbit intestine is dependent on the expression of pili. We examined in vitro adherence of piliated RDEC-1 after altering either the hydrophobicity of the organisms, the hydrophobicity of the substrate for attachment, or the surface tension ...

BACKGROUND Bacterial surface display technique enables the exogenous proteins or polypeptides displayed on the bacterial surface, while maintaining their relatively independent spatial structures and biological activities. The technique makes recombinant bacteria possess the expectant functions, subsequently, directly used for many applications. Many proteins could be used to achieve bacterial ...

The vast majority of urinary tract infections are caused by strains of uropathogenic Escherichia coli that encode filamentous adhesive organelles called type 1 pili. These structures mediate both bacterial attachment to and invasion of bladder epithelial cells. However, the mechanism by which type 1 pilus-mediated bacterial invasion contributes to the pathogenesis of a urinary tract infection i...

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of meningitis in newborn infants. Bacterial cell surface appendages, known as pili, have been recently described in streptococcal pathogens, including GBS. The pilus tip adhesin, PilA, contributes to GBS adherence to blood-brain barrier (BBB) endothelium; however, the host receptor and the contribution of PilA in central nervous system (CNS) dise...