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P fimbriae and other adhesins enhance intestinal persistence of Escherichia coli in early infancy

1998; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 121; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0950268898001137

1469-4409

Ingegerd Adlerberth, Catharina Svanborg, B. Carlsson, Lotta Mellander, Lars Hanson, F Jalil, K Khalil, Agnes E. Wold,

Infant Nutrition and Health

Resident and transient Escherichia coli strains were identified in the rectal flora of 22 Pakistani infants followed from birth to 6 months of age. All strains were tested for O-antigen expression, adhesin specificity (P fimbriae, other mannose-resistant adhesins or type 1 fimbriae) and adherence to the colonic cell line HT-29. Resident strains displayed higher mannose- resistant adherence to HT-29 cells, and expressed P fimbriae ( P =0·0036) as well as other mannose-resistant adhesins ( P =0·012) more often than transient strains. In strains acquired during the first month of life, P fimbriae were 12 times more frequent in resident than in transient strains ( P =0·0006). The O-antigen distribution did not differ between resident and transient strains, and none of the resident P-fimbriated strains belonged to previously recognized uropathogenic clones. The results suggest that adhesins mediating adherence to intestinal epithelial cells, especially P fimbriae, enhance the persistence of E. coli in the large intestine of infants.