Methanococcus maripaludis is an archaeon with two studied surface appendages, archaella and type IV-like pili. Previously, the major structural pilin was identified as MMP1685 and three additional proteins were designated as minor pilins (EpdA, EpdB and EpdC). All of the proteins are likely processed by the pilin-specific prepilin peptidase EppA. Six other genes were identified earlier as likel...

ter crescentus are assembled at a specific time in the life cycle at one pole of the cell and are composed of the monomer protein, pilin. A previous study demonstrated that the onset of pilin synthesis occurs well before pili appear on the surface, suggesting that pilin accumulates within the cell. In the present study, an electron microscope immunocytochemistry assay was used to determine the ...

The ability of pathogens to cause disease depends on their aptitude to escape the immune system. Type IV pili are extracellular filamentous virulence factors composed of pilin monomers and frequently expressed by bacterial pathogens. As such they are major targets for the host immune system. In the human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis, strains expressing class I pilins contain a genetic recomb...

The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces multifunctional, polar, filamentous appendages termed type IV pili. Type IV pili are involved in colonization during infection, twitching motility, biofilm formation, bacteriophage infection, and natural transformation. Electrostatic surface analysis of modeled pilus fibers generated from P. aeruginosa strain PAK, K122-4, and KB-7 pilin...

residues bearing PG. They further report that inactivation of pptB and substitution of pilin serine residue 93 (a conserved and likely site of PG occupancy in strain 8013) led to an approximately two-fold increase in the number of bacteria found in aggregates. Likewise, overexpression of pptB resulted in a decrease in bacterial aggregation. As type IV pili are the predominant effectors of such ...

A bank of mouse monoclonal antibodies has been produced with reactivity to gonococcal pili to investigate epitopes of the pilus structural protein, pilin. Pili of Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains R10 and MS11 were used as immunogens to elicit 19 monoclonal antibodies reactive with the homologous pili type in ELISA. Of the 19 antibodies, 16 demonstrated type-specific reactivity and 3 were cross-rea...

Eosinophilia of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) can be found in various parasitic infestations of the central nervous system. Angiostrongylus canto­ nensis is the most common etiologic agent of eosi­ nophilic meningitis in Thailand and its interme­ diate host is Pila snails (Punyagupta et ai, 1970). Humans are infected by this parasite after ingesting raw Pila snails. The common presenting sympto...