Interplay of a secreted protein with type IVb pilus for efficient enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli colonization.

ABSTRACT: Initial attachment and subsequent colonization of the intestinal epithelium comprise critical events allowing enteric pathogens to survive and express their pathogenesis. In enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), these are mediated by a long proteinaceous fiber termed type IVb pilus (T4bP). We have reported that the colonization factor antigen/III (CFA/III), an operon-encoded T4bP of ETEC, possesses a minor pilin, CofB, that carries an H-type lectin domain at its tip. Although CofB is critical for pilus assembly by forming a trimeric initiator complex, its importance for bacterial attachment remains undefined. Here, we show that T4bP is not sufficient for bacterial attachment, which also requires a secreted protein CofJ, encoded within the same CFA/III operon. The crystal structur

SUBMITTER: Oki H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6048534 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature