THE VIRULENCE FACTOR OF E. COLI IN GENITOURINARY TRACT INFECTIONS
3. Fimbrial Specificity to Genitourinary Organs
1988 Volume 79 Issue 7 Pages 1177-1186
Details
1988 Volume 79 Issue 7 Pages 1177-1186
In vitro tests of E. coli adhesion to the human bladder, renal pelvis, kidney, and prostate were performed. In these tests, six strains of E. coli isolated from patients with genitourinary tract infections were used; 5 strains were regulated phase variants and 1 strain was non-fimbriated.
Type 1 fimbriated strains adhered to the bladder and renal pelvis; MR-fimbriated strains did not.
E. coli OEN-132, which was a P-fimbriated strain, adhered to the renal tubules, while type 1 fimbriated strains did not.
E. coli OEP-141, an MR (non-P)-fimbriated strain, and OEP-162, an MR (including P)-fimbriated strain, adhered to the prostatic ducts, while type 1 fimbriated strains did not.
Consequently, type 1 fimbriae was thought to be a colonization factor of transitional cells in the urinary tract, while the MR fimbriae with different specificities that of the renal tubules and the prostatic ducts. The phase variation of E. coli between type 1 and MR fimbriae might be one of the most significant vilurence factors in genitourinary tract infections.
