Hydrophobic Adsorptive and Hemagglutinating Properties of Escherichia coli Possessing Colonization Factor Antigens (CFA/I or CFA/II), Type 1 Pili, or Other Pili

• Published in: Current microbiology 1981-01, Vol.5 (2), p.67-72
• Main Authors: Wadstroem, T, Faris, A, Freer, J H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Escherichia coli
• ISSN: 0343-8651
• DOI: 10.1007/BF01567421

Hydrophobic and hemagglutinating activities of piliated enterotoxigenic E. coli possessing colonization factor antigens (CFA)/I and putative CFA/II, strains with type 1 pili, and piliated strains of nonenterotoxigenic E. coli from urinary tract infections were compared. When passed through columns of hydrophobic Phenyl Sepharose in the presence of buffered ammonium sulfate, the strains with CFA adsorbed most strongly. Similarly, the CFA strains showed a tendency to autoagglutinate at a lower (NH sub(4)) sub(2)SO sub(4) concentration than the other strains studied. The degree of hydrophobicity of the strains tested is in the order CFA/I > CFA/II > type 1 pili > urinary tract strains. Rough variants of E. coli) strains were more hydrophobic than their smooth parents. Electron microscopy showed large numbers of pili on CFA strains, whereas type 1 piliated strains possessed fewer pili. CFA-negative clones possessed few or no pili and did not adsorb to the gel. Strains lost their adsorptive capacity after blending, sonication, heating, or trypsin treatment. It is concluded that the hydrophobicity of enteric organisms, as measured by hydrophobic interaction chromatography, is a function of the type and number of pili on the cell surface.