How type 1 fimbriae help Escherichia coli to evade extracellular antibiotics

• DOI: 10.1038/srep18109
• Publication Date: 2016-01-05T10:12:53Z
• Authors: Ima Avalos Vizcarra; Vahid Hosseini; Philip Kollmannsb...; Stefanie Meier; Stefan S. Weber; Markus Arnoldini; Martin Ackermann; Viola Vogel
• Keywords: Internalization

Abstract To survive antibiotics, bacteria use two different strategies: counteracting antibiotic effects by expression of resistance genes or evading their e.g. persisting inside host cells. Since bacterial adhesins provide access to the shielded, intracellular niche and adhesin type 1 fimbriae increases survival chances macrophages, we asked if also influenced evasion. Combined gentamicin assays, flow cytometry, single cell microscopy kinetic modeling dose response curves showed that increased adhesion internalization macrophages. This was caused strongly decreased off-rates affected number but not macrophage viability morphology. Fimbriae thus promote evasion which is particularly relevant in context chronic infections.