Uropathogenic virulence factor FimH facilitates binding of uteropathogenic Escherichia coli to canine endometrium

• Published in: Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases microbiology and infectious diseases, 2012-09, Vol.35 (5), p.461-467
• Main Authors: Krekeler, N, Marenda, M.S, Browning, G.F, Holden, K.M, Charles, J.A, Wright, P.J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adhesins; Adhesins, Escherichia coli - genetics; Adhesins, Escherichia coli - metabolism; Allergy and Immunology; Animals; Bacterial Adhesion; Bacterial Load; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Biopsy; Complementation; Dog; Dog Diseases - microbiology; Dogs - microbiology; E. coli; Endometrium; Endometrium - microbiology; Endometrium - pathology; Epithelial cells; Epithelium; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli Infections - microbiology; Escherichia coli Infections - veterinary; Female; Fimbriae Proteins - genetics; Fimbriae Proteins - metabolism; FimH; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Knockout Techniques; Gene Silencing; Genes, Bacterial; Genetic Complementation Test; Hysterectomy; Infection; Infectious Disease; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Mutation; Pili; Pyometra; Pyometra - microbiology; Pyometra - veterinary; Uropathogenic Escherichia coli - genetics; Uropathogenic Escherichia coli - pathogenicity; Uropathogenic virulence factors; Uterus; virulence factors; Virulence Factors - genetics; Virulence Factors - metabolism
• ISSN: 0147-9571; 1878-1667
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cimid.2012.04.001

Abstract Pyometra is a potentially life-threatening condition in bitches and is often caused by Escherichia coli infection. Both pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli strains commonly carry the genes for type 1 fimbriae that mediate bacterial adhesion onto host epithelium. To investigate whether the type 1 fimbrial adhesin, FimH, facilitates the binding of uropathogenic E. coli to canine endometrium, the fimH gene was insertionally inactivated in a pathogenic E. coli strain. The ability of E. coli to bind to canine endometrial epithelial cells was determined in vitro using canine uterine biopsies. Binding of the fimH mutant was only 0.3% of that of the wild type. Complementation of the mutation restored the phenotype to that of the parent. This study has developed an in vitro model that allows quantitative and qualitative assessment of bacterial binding to canine endometrium and has demonstrated that the fimH gene plays a role in adherence of pathogenic E. coli to canine endometrium.