Pseudomonas aeruginosa pili and flagella mediate distinct binding and signaling events at the apical and basolateral surface of airway epithelium.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an important opportunistic pathogen of man, exploits numerous factors for initial attachment to the host, an event required to establish bacterial infection. In this paper, we rigorously explore the role of two major bacterial adhesins, type IV pili (Tfp) and flagella, in bacterial adherence to distinct host receptors at the apical (AP) and basolateral (BL) surfaces of polarized lung epithelial cells and induction of subsequent host signaling and pathogenic events. Using an isogenic mutant of P. aeruginosa that lacks flagella or utilizing beads coated with purified Tfp, we establish that Tfp are necessary and sufficient for maximal binding to host N-glycans at the AP surface of polarized epithelium. In contrast, experiments utilizing a P. aeruginosa isogenic mutant

SUBMITTER: Bucior I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3320588 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature