Adhesion to normal human uroepithelial cells of Escherichia coli from children with various forms of urinary tract infection.

The ability to adhere to normal human uroepithelial cells was compared for Escherichia coli strains isolated from the urine of girls with acute pyelonephritis, acute cystitis, or asymptomatic bacteriuria, and from the stools of school children without bacteriuria. Strains from those with acute pyelonephritis had high adhesive ability, whereas strains from those with acute cystitis had intermediate and strains from girls with asymptomatic bacteriuria or from normal feces had low adhesive ability. Strains of serogroup O4K12 had good adherence regardless of origin. E. coli of the eight O groups commonly found in patients with acute pyelonephritis adhered more than did strains of other O groups. Spontaneously agglutinating strains had less adhesive ability than did the O-typable ones.