engleski

UROPATHOGENIC Escherichia coli: “ WE LIKE STICKY SUGARS!”

Oligosaccharides attached to glycoconjugates play many important biological roles through interaction with endogenous carbohydrate recognition proteins (lectins), such as for inter- or intra-cellular trafficking, signal transduction, cell growth and differentiation, adhesion, immune reactions, fertilization, neoplastic transformation and metastasis. As well, many pathogens, such as Helicobacter pylori, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli use specific glycan structures present on the surface of the host-cells to invade and to cause the disease. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are the most common cause of community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI) and are responsible for 70– 90% of the estimated 150 million UTIs diagnosed annually. The most common type of UPEC causing pyelonephritis expresses type P adhesin (lectin) on the tip of fimbriae (P-fimbriae) that are crucial for epithelial cell adherence. P fimbriae are expressed by more than 80% of the E. coli strains causing acute pyelonephritis compared with less than 20% of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) strains. The host-cell receptors for P-fimbriae are glycosphingolipids bearing Gal(α 1-4)Gal oligosaccharide receptor epitopes (galabiose), which are abundantly expressed on the human urinary tract epithelium. The glycosphingolipid receptors also play a central role in host response induction, while P-fimbrial expression was shown to be essential for the UPEC strains to trigger the innate host response in vivo.

infection; upopathogenic E. coli; glycans

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