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Host Protein Binding and Adhesive Properties of H6 and H7 Flagella of Attaching and Effacing Escherichia coli

Ayen L. Erdem,¹ Fabiola Avelino,² Juan Xicohtencatl-Cortes,¹ and Jorge A. Girón^1*

Department of Immunobiology, University of Arizona, 1501 N. Campbell Ave., Tucson, Arizona 85724,¹ Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Edificio 76, Ciudad Universitaria, Puebla, Pue 72000, Mexico²

Received 27 March 2007/ Accepted 20 July 2007

It had been suggested that the flagella of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) might contribute to host colonization. In this study, we set out to investigate the adhesive properties of H7 and H6 flagella. We studied the abilities of EHEC EDL933 (O157:H7) and EPEC E2348/69 (O127:H6) flagella to bind to bovine mucus, host proteins such as mucins, and extracellular matrix proteins. Through several approaches, we found that H6 and H7 flagella and their flagellin monomers bind to mucins I and II and to freshly isolated bovine mucus. A genetic approach showed that EHEC and EPEC fliC deletion mutants were significantly less adherent to bovine intestinal tissue than the parental wild-type strains. In addition, we found that EPEC bacteria and H6 flagella, but not EHEC, bound largely, in a dose-dependent manner, to collagen and to a lesser extent to laminin and fibronectin. We also report that EHEC O157:H7 strains agglutinate rabbit red blood cells via their flagella, a heretofore unknown phenotype in this pathogroup. Collectively, our data demonstrate that the H6 and H7 flagella possess adhesive properties, particularly the ability to bind mucins, that may contribute to colonization of mucosal surfaces.

Published ahead of print on 10 August 2007.