TY - JOUR
T1 - Pilicides regulate pili expression in E. coli without affecting the functional properties of the pilus rod
AU - Åberg, Veronica
AU - Fällman, Erik
AU - Axner, Ove
AU - Uhlin, Bernt Eric
AU - Hultgren, Scott J.
AU - Almqvist, Fredrik
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - The infectious ability of uropathogenic Escherichia coli relies on adhesive fibers, termed pili or fimbriae, that are expressed on the bacterial surface. Pili are multi-protein structures that are formed via a highly preserved assembly and secretion system called the chaperone-usher pathway. We have earlier reported that small synthetic compounds, referred to as pilicides, disrupt both type 1 and P pilus biogenesis in E. coli. In this study, we show that the pilicides do not affect the structure, dynamics or function of the pilus rod. This was demonstrated by first suppressing the expression of P pili in E. coli by pilicide treatment and, next, measuring the biophysical properties of the pilus rod. The reduced abundance of pili was assessed with hemagglutination, atomic force microscopy and Western immunoblot analysis. The biodynamic properties of the pili fibers were determined by optical tweezers force measurements on individual pili and were found to be intact. The presented results establish a potential use of pilicides as chemical tools to study important biological processes e.g. adhesion, pilus biogenesis and the role of pili in infections and biofilm formation.
AB - The infectious ability of uropathogenic Escherichia coli relies on adhesive fibers, termed pili or fimbriae, that are expressed on the bacterial surface. Pili are multi-protein structures that are formed via a highly preserved assembly and secretion system called the chaperone-usher pathway. We have earlier reported that small synthetic compounds, referred to as pilicides, disrupt both type 1 and P pilus biogenesis in E. coli. In this study, we show that the pilicides do not affect the structure, dynamics or function of the pilus rod. This was demonstrated by first suppressing the expression of P pili in E. coli by pilicide treatment and, next, measuring the biophysical properties of the pilus rod. The reduced abundance of pili was assessed with hemagglutination, atomic force microscopy and Western immunoblot analysis. The biodynamic properties of the pili fibers were determined by optical tweezers force measurements on individual pili and were found to be intact. The presented results establish a potential use of pilicides as chemical tools to study important biological processes e.g. adhesion, pilus biogenesis and the role of pili in infections and biofilm formation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33847150892&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/b613441f
DO - 10.1039/b613441f
M3 - Article
C2 - 17308668
AN - SCOPUS:33847150892
SN - 1742-206X
VL - 3
SP - 214
EP - 218
JO - Molecular BioSystems
JF - Molecular BioSystems
IS - 3
ER -