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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2008, p. 1087-1093, Vol. 74, No. 4
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02496-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Anaerobic Conditions Promote Expression of Sfp Fimbriae and Adherence of Sorbitol-Fermenting Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:NM to Human Intestinal Epithelial Cells{triangledown}

Anne Müsken,1 Martina Bielaszewska,1 Lilo Greune,2 Christian H. Schweppe,1 Johannes Müthing,3 Herbert Schmidt,4 M. Alexander Schmidt,2 Helge Karch,1 and Wenlan Zhang1*

Institute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Robert Koch Str. 41,1 Institute of Infectiology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation (ZMBE), University of Münster, Von-Esmarch-Str. 56,2 Institute for Medical Physics and Biophysics, University of Münster, Robert Koch Str. 31, 48149 Münster,3 Institute for Food Science and Biotechnology, Department of Food Microbiology, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstr. 28, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany4

Received 6 November 2007/ Accepted 6 December 2007

The sfp gene cluster, unique to sorbitol-fermenting (SF) enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:NM strains, encodes fimbriae that mediate mannose-resistant hemagglutination in laboratory E. coli strains but are not expressed in wild-type SF EHEC O157:NM strains under standard laboratory conditions. We investigated whether Sfp fimbriae are expressed under conditions that mimic the intestinal environment and whether they contribute to the adherence of SF EHEC O157:NM strains to human intestinal epithelial cells. The transcription of sfpA (encoding the major fimbrial subunit) was upregulated in all strains investigated, and all expressed SfpA and possessed fimbriae that reacted with an anti-SfpA antibody when the strains were grown on solid media under anaerobic conditions. Sfp expression was absent under aerobic conditions and in liquid media. Sfp upregulation under anaerobic conditions was significantly higher on blood agar and a medium simulating the colonic environment than on a medium simulating the ileal environment (P < 0.05). The induction of Sfp fimbriae in SF E. coli O157:NM strains correlates with increased adherence to Caco-2 and HCT-8 cells. Our data indicate that the expression of Sfp fimbriae in SF E. coli O157:NM strains is induced under conditions resembling those of the natural site of infection and that Sfp fimbriae may contribute to the adherence of the organisms to human intestinal epithelium.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut für Hygiene, Universität Münster, Robert-Koch-Str. 41, 48149 Münster, Germany. Phone: 49-251 980 2875. Fax: 49-251 980 2868. E-mail: wlzhang{at}uni-muenster.de

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 14 December 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2008, p. 1087-1093, Vol. 74, No. 4
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02496-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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