Identification of an outer membrane protein of Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. necrophorum that binds with high affinity to bovine endothelial cells.

Fusobacterium necrophorum, a Gram-negative anaerobe, is the primary etiologic agent of liver abscesses in cattle. There are two subspecies; subsp. necrophorum and subsp. funduliforme, which differ in morphological, biochemical, molecular characteristics, and virulence. The subsp. necrophorum, which is more virulent, occurs more frequently in liver abscesses than the subsp. funduliforme. Bacterial adhesion to the host cell surface is critical to the pathogenesis of several bacterial infections, and in F. necrophorum, outer membrane proteins (OMP) have been shown to mediate adhesion to bovine endothelial cells. The objective of this study was to identify potential adhesins that are involved in adhesion of F. necrophorum subsp. necrophorum to the host cells. An OMP of 42.4 kDa, which binds with high affinity to the bovine endothelial cells and is recognized by the sera from cattle with liver abscesses, was identified. N-terminal sequencing of the protein showed 96% homology to the FomA protein of F. nucleatum. The PCR analysis showed that this fomA gene was present in several strains of subsp. necrophorum, subsp. funduliforme of bovine and subsp. funduliforme of human origin. The purified native and recombinantly expressed protein when preincubated with the endothelial cells, prevented the attachment of subsp. necrophorum significantly. In addition, the polyclonal antibody produced against the protein prevented the binding of subsp. necrophorum to bovine endothelial cells.