Interplay of a secreted protein with type IVb pilus for efficient enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli colonization

• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1805671115
• Publication Date: 2018-06-25T19:16:40Z
• Authors: Hiroya Oki; Kazuki Kawahara; Takahiro Maruno; Tomoya Imai; Yuki Muroga; Shunsuke Fukakusa; Takaki Iwashita; Yuji Kobayashi; Shigeaki Matsuda; Toshio Kodama; Tetsuya Iida; Takuya Yoshida; Tadayasu Ohkubo; Shota Nakamura
• Keywords: Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli; Pilin; Polyclonal antibodies

Significance To avoid the mucosal barrier and attach to intestinal epithelium, enteric pathogens have evolved a unique proteinaceous fiber called type IVb pilus (T4bP). Despite its importance for bacterial pathogenesis, little is known about adhesion mechanisms of T4bP, especially regarding role minor pilin subunit located at tip. Here, we show that CofB CFA/III from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) plays not only in T4bP assembly by forming trimeric initiator complex, but also anchoring secreted protein, CofJ, trimerization interface H-type lectin domain. These findings expand our knowledge T4P biology provide important insights developing therapeutics against ETEC infection.