Journal article
Epithelial Microvilli Establish an Electrostatic Barrier to Microbial Adhesion
Infection and immunity, v 82(7), pp 2860-2871
01 Jul 2014
PMID: 24778113
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Microvilli are membrane extensions on the apical surface of polarized epithelia, such as intestinal enterocytes and tubule and duct epithelia. One notable exception in mucosal epithelia is M cells, which are specialized for capturing luminal microbial particles; M cells display a unique apical membrane lacking microvilli. Based on studies of M cell uptake under different ionic conditions, we hypothesized that microvilli may augment the mucosal barrier by providing an increased surface charge density from the increased membrane surface and associated glycoproteins. Thus, electrostatic charges may repel microbes from epithelial cells bearing microvilli, while M cells are more susceptible to microbial adhesion. To test the role of microvilli in bacterial adhesion and uptake, we developed polarized intestinal epithelial cells with reduced microvilli ("microvillus-minus," or MVM) but retaining normal tight junctions. When tested for interactions with microbial particles in suspension, MVM cells showed greatly enhanced adhesion and uptake of particles compared to microvillus-positive cells. This preference showed a linear relationship to bacterial surface charge, suggesting that microvilli resist binding of microbes by using electrostatic repulsion. Moreover, this predicts that pathogen modification of electrostatic forces may contribute directly to virulence. Accordingly, the effacement effector protein Tir from enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 expressed in epithelial cells induced a loss of microvilli with consequent enhanced microbial binding. These results provide a new context for microvillus function in the host-pathogen relationship, based on electrostatic interactions.
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Details
- Title
- Epithelial Microvilli Establish an Electrostatic Barrier to Microbial Adhesion
- Creators
- Kaila M. Bennett - University of California, RiversideSharon L. Walker - University of California, RiversideDavid D. Lo - University of California, Riverside
- Publication Details
- Infection and immunity, v 82(7), pp 2860-2871
- Publisher
- Amer Soc Microbiology
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) R21AI098973 / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID) R21AI98973; R01AI63426 / National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000338728400018
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84903134109
- Other Identifier
- 991021229991104721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Immunology
- Infectious Diseases