Purification, morphology, and genetics of a new fimbrial putative colonization factor of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli O159:H4.

The ability to colonize the small intestine is essential for the pathogenesis of diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). Colonization is mediated by fimbriae (pili), of which there are several antigenically distinct types, including colonization factor antigen I, colonization factor antigen II (CS1, CS2, and CS3), and PCF8775 (CS4, CS5, and CS6). These fimbriae are associated with certain ETEC O serogroups. Serogroup O159 has had no known colonization factor. We found a distinct plasmid-encoded fimbria composed of 19-kilodalton protein subunits associated with ETEC serotype O159:H4. Rabbit antibody against this purified fimbria reacted with a single 19-kilodalton protein band as seen by Western immunoblot of sheared-cell preparations. The rabbit antibody, treated with colloidal-gold-labeled goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G, bound specifically to fimbriae when cells were examined with an electron microscope. Of 10 available ETEC O159:H4 strains from Europe, Bangladesh, and Kenya, 6 expressed this type of fimbria; its true prevalence among ETEC strains is unknown. This putative colonization factor of O159:H4 joins other ETEC fimbriae as potentially useful immunogens against human diarrhea.