The Preparation and Properties of and Pili from Variants of Neisseria gonorrhoeae P9
- 1 May 1981
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Microbiology Society in Microbiology
- Vol. 124 (1), 109-117
- https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-124-1-109
Abstract
The .alpha. and .beta. type pili produced by variants of N. gonorrhoeae P9 were isolated and characterized. The 2 types of pili showed clear differences in morphology, buoyant density (.alpha., 1.292 g/ml; .beta., 1.282 g/ml) and isoelectric point (.alpha., pI 5.2; .beta., pI 4.3). Amino acid analysis of .alpha. and .beta. pili showed that their overall composition was similar with the exception that .beta. pili had a higher content of glutamate and alanine residues. A high degree of structural homology was seen in 2-dimensional peptide maps of tryptic hydrolysates of .alpha. and .beta. pili. The molecular differences between .alpha. and .beta. pili were reflected in their antigenic activity and in their ability to attach to human cells. The binding of a pili to buccal epithelial cells was pH dependent with a maximum binding of 49% at pH 6.5; the attachment of .beta. pili showed no pH optimum. The binding of pili to erythrocytes differed from binding to buccal epithelial cells in that attachment of both pili was identical with no pH optimum. Data from attachment of pili to human cells suggest that erythrocytes lack receptors for binding gonococcal pili.This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Intra-strain heterogeneity of gonococcal pili is related to opacity colony variance.The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1980
- Variations in Surface Protein Composition Associated with Virulence Properties in Opacity Types of Neisseria gonorrhoeaeJournal of General Microbiology, 1979
- The Preparation and Properties of Gonococcal PiliJournal of General Microbiology, 1977
- The Influence of Surface Charge on the Attachment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae to Human CellsJournal of General Microbiology, 1976
- [6] Thin-layer chromatography of amino acids and derivativesMethods in enzymology, 1972
- THE PREPARATION OF 131I-LABELLED HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE OF HIGH SPECIFIC RADIOACTIVITYBiochemical Journal, 1963