Pyelonephritis-associated pili

Uropathogenic E. coli cause 90% of the urinary tract infections. The bacteria colonize from the feces or perineal region and ascend the urinary tract to the bladder. With the aid of specific adhesins (pyelonephritis-associated pili) they are able to colonize the bladder. Another factor involved in the pathogenicity of the uropathogenic strains of E. coli is their resistance to complement-dependent bactericidal effect of serum. This phenomenon is associated with the presence of a capsule, which decrease the ability of antibodies and/or complement to bind to the bacterial surface, which in turn prevents the phagocytes from recognizing and engulfing the bacterial cells. 

The most common group of fimbrial adhesins of Escherichia coli occurs at the edge of their fimbriae and have a two-domain organization. The most external N-terminal domain is a lectin, whereas the C-terminal pilin connects to the rest of the fimbrius. In Fig. 5, the lectin domains from E. coli adhesins that have been crystallised in complex with a specific glycan sequence are displayed, with the exception of CfaE that was only crystallized in its glycan-free form. PapGII (Pap for pyelonephritis associated pili) is the fimbrial adhesin at the tip of P fimbriae from... 

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