Scheuerpflug I, Rudel T, Ryll R, Pandit J, Meyer T F
Abteilung Infektionsbiologie, Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Infect Immun. 1999 Feb;67(2):834-43. doi: 10.1128/IAI.67.2.834-843.1999.
Unlike other type 4 pili, the neisserial pili consist of at least two distinct proteins, the highly variable major subunit PilE forming the pilus fiber and the tip-associated adhesin PilC. PilC protein purified either from gonococci or from Escherichia coli interacted with different human epithelial cell lines, primary epithelial and endothelial cells. The binding of PilC protein efficiently prevented the attachment of piliated Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis to these cell types. Fluorescent beads coated with pili prepared from piliated wild-type N. gonorrhoeae also adhered to these cells, in contrast to beads coated with pili prepared from a piliated PilC-deficient mutant. In the latter case, the binding of fluorescent beads was restored after pretreatment of the pilus-loaded beads with purified PilC. Piliated wild-type N. gonorrhoeae, the piliated PilC-deficient mutant, and N. gonorrhoeae pili assembled in Pseudomonas aeruginosa agglutinated human erythrocytes, while nonpiliated gonococci did not. Consistently, purified PilC did not agglutinate or bind to human erythrocytes, suggesting that N. gonorrhoeae PilE is responsible for pilus-mediated hemagglutination.
与其他4型菌毛不同，奈瑟菌菌毛至少由两种不同的蛋白质组成，高度可变的主要亚基PilE形成菌毛纤维，以及与菌毛尖端相关的黏附素PilC。从淋球菌或大肠杆菌中纯化的PilC蛋白与不同的人上皮细胞系、原代上皮细胞和内皮细胞相互作用。PilC蛋白的结合有效地阻止了有菌毛的淋病奈瑟菌和脑膜炎奈瑟菌附着于这些细胞类型。与用有菌毛的PilC缺陷型突变体制备的菌毛包被的珠子相比，用有菌毛的野生型淋病奈瑟菌制备的菌毛包被的荧光珠子也能黏附于这些细胞。在后一种情况下，用纯化的PilC对载有菌毛的珠子进行预处理后，荧光珠子的结合得以恢复。有菌毛的野生型淋病奈瑟菌、有菌毛的PilC缺陷型突变体以及在铜绿假单胞菌中组装的淋病奈瑟菌菌毛能凝集人红细胞，而无菌毛的淋球菌则不能。一致的是，纯化的PilC不会凝集或结合人红细胞，这表明淋病奈瑟菌的PilE负责菌毛介导的血细胞凝集。
