ABSTRACT
The potential role of adhesion of microorganisms to extracellular matrix (ECM) components in pathogenesis has gained increasing attention in recent years. The binding of soluble Fn appears to be restricted primarily to certain categories of E. coli, principally enteropathogenic E. coli(EPEC) and enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), and E. coli strains isolated from bovine mastitis. Curli are coiled, filamentous extracellular structures measuring approximately 2 nm in width. Curli were originally found on bovine mastitis-associated E. coli strains and suggested to be a third class of adhesive organelle. S. enteritidis 3b produces three types of fimbriae: SEF 14, SEF 17, and type 1. Highly aggregative colonies form due to SEF 17 fimbriae. P fimbriae are multifunctional adhesion complexes that exhibit both lectin-like and lectin-independent activities. The strict dependence of adhesion of type 1-fimbriated bacteria upon receptors bearing high-mannose- or hybrid-type oligosaccharide moieties with terminal, unsubstituted mannosyl residues has become a widely accepted tenet in the field of bacterial adhesion.
