Impact of Phosphorylcholine Expression on the Adherence and Invasion of to Epithelial Cells.

Phosphorylcholine (PC) is a structural component of various pathogens and is involved in bacterial adhesion via the platelet-activating factor receptor (PAF-R). In this study, we investigated how PC expression affects cell adhesion and invasion of (). Eight clinical strains of were cultured, and PC expression was measured using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Bacterial adherence and invasion were examined using Detroit 562 cells. An anti-PC-specific monoclonal antibody (TEPC-15) was used to inhibit bacterial PC, and a PAF-R antagonist (ABT-491) was used to inhibit cellular PAF-R. The gene was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction with the standard primers. The level of PC expressed on the surfaces differed in each strain and differed even in the same genotype. Adherence assay experiments showed a significant negative correlation between TEPC-15 and ABT-491 inhibitory effects and PC expression in . Similarly, intracellular invasion assay experiments showed a significant negative correlation between TEPC-15 and ABT-491 inhibitory effects and PC expression in . This study suggests that is involved in cell adhesion and invasion by PC.