Journal article
Kingella kingae Expresses Type IV Pili That Mediate Adherence to Respiratory Epithelial and Synovial Cells
Journal of bacteriology, Vol.190(21), pp.7157-7163
11/01/2008
DOI: 10.1128/JB.00884-08
PMCID: PMC2580711
PMID: 18757541
Abstract
Kingella kingae is a gram-negative bacterium that colonizes the respiratory tract and is a common cause of septic arthritis and osteomyelitis. Despite the increasing frequency of K. kingae disease, little is known about the mechanism by which this organism adheres to respiratory epithelium and seeds joints and bones. Previous work showed that K. kingae expresses long surface fibers that vary in surface density. In the current study, we found that these fibers are type IV pili and are necessary for efficient adherence to respiratory epithelial and synovial cells and that the number of pili expressed by the bacterium correlates with the level of adherence to synovial cells but not with the level of adherence to respiratory cells. In addition, we established that the major pilin subunit is encoded by a pilA homolog in a conserved region of the chromosome that also contains a second pilin gene and a type IV pilus accessory gene, both of which are dispensable for pilus assembly and pilus-mediated adherence. Upon examination of the K. kingae genome, we identified two genes in physically separate locations on the chromosome that encode homologs of the Neisseria PilC proteins and that have only a low level homology to each other. Examination of mutant strains revealed that both of the K. kingae PilC homologs are essential for a wild-type level of adherence to both respiratory epithelial and synovial cells. Taken together, these results demonstrate that type IV pili and the two PilC homologs play important roles in mediating K. kingae adherence.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Kingella kingae Expresses Type IV Pili That Mediate Adherence to Respiratory Epithelial and Synovial Cells
- Creators
- Thomas E. Kehl-Fie - Washington University in St. LouisSara E. Miller - Duke University HospitalJoseph W. St. Geme - Duke University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of bacteriology, Vol.190(21), pp.7157-7163
- Publisher
- Amer Soc Microbiology
- DOI
- 10.1128/JB.00884-08
- PMID
- 18757541
- PMCID
- PMC2580711
- ISSN
- 0021-9193
- eISSN
- 1098-5530
- Number of pages
- 7
- Grant note
- T32-GM07067 / NIH training; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA T32GM007067 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/01/2008
- Academic Unit
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Record Identifier
- 9984618638202771
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