This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hess, P. Articles by Oelschlaeger, T. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hess, P. Articles by Oelschlaeger, T. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, September 2004, p. 5298-5307, Vol. 72, No. 9
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.9.5298-5307.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Salmonella fim Homologue in Citrobacter freundii Mediates Invasion In Vitro and Crossing of the Blood-Brain Barrier in the Rat Pup Model

Petra Hess,^1, Artur Altenhöfer,¹ A. Salam Khan,¹ Neda Daryab,^1, Kwang Sik Kim,^2, Jörg Hacker,¹ and Tobias A. Oelschlaeger^1*

Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany,¹ Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California²

Received 16 September 2003/ Returned for modification 13 November 2003/ Accepted 18 May 2004

From the invasive Citrobacter freundii strain 3009, an invasion determinant was cloned, sequenced, and expressed. Sequence analysis of the determinant showed high homology with the fim determinant from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The genes of the invasion determinant directed invasion of recombinant Escherichia coli K-12 strains into human epithelial cell lines of the bladder and gut as well as mannose-sensitive yeast agglutination and were termed fim_Cf genes. Expression of the Fim_Cf proteins was shown by ³⁵S labeling and/or Western blotting. In the infant rat model of experimental hematogenous meningitis, C. freundii strain 3009 and the in vitro invasive recombinant E. coli K-12 strain harboring the fim_Cf determinant reached the cerebrospinal fluid, in contrast to the case for the control strain. The fim determinant was also necessary for efficient in vitro invasion by C. freundii, because a deletion mutant was strongly reduced in its invasion efficiency. The mutation could be complemented in trans by the corresponding genes. Invasion by C. freundii could be blocked only by D-mannose, GlcNAc, and chitin hydrolysate and not by other carbohydrates tested. In contrast, yeast agglutination was not affected by GlcNAc or chitin hydrolysate. This finding indicated mannose residues to be essential for both yeast agglutination and invasion, whereas GlcNAc (oligomer) residues of host cells are involved exclusively in invasion. These results showed the fim determinant of C. freundii to be responsible for D-mannose- and GlcNAc-dependent in vitro invasion without being assembled into pili and for crossing of the blood-brain barrier in the infant rat model.

---

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie, Röntgenring 11, 97070 Würzburg, Germany. Phone: 931 312150. Fax: 931 312578. E-mail: t.oelschlaeger{at}mail.uni-wuerzburg.de.

Editor: J. T. Barbieri

Present address: MPI für Biochemie, Abteilung Strukturforschung, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.

Present address: Klinik und Poliklinik für Hautkrankheiten der Universität Würzburg, D-97080 Würzburg, Germany.

Present address: Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287.

---

Infection and Immunity, September 2004, p. 5298-5307, Vol. 72, No. 9
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.9.5298-5307.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Nuccio, S.-P., Baumler, A. J. (2007). Evolution of the Chaperone/Usher Assembly Pathway: Fimbrial Classification Goes Greek. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 71: 551-575 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Brzuszkiewicz, E., Bruggemann, H., Liesegang, H., Emmerth, M., Olschlager, T., Nagy, G., Albermann, K., Wagner, C., Buchrieser, C., Emody, L., Gottschalk, G., Hacker, J., Dobrindt, U. (2006). How to become a uropathogen: Comparative genomic analysis of extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli strains. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 12879-12884 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Cordone, A., Mauriello, E. M. F., Pickard, D. J., Dougan, G., De Felice, M., Ricca, E. (2005). The lrp Gene and Its Role in Type I Fimbriation in Citrobacter rodentium. J. Bacteriol. 187: 7009-7017 [Abstract] [Full Text]