Adhesion of Bartonella henselae to Fibronectin Is Mediated via Repetitive Motifs Present in the Stalk of Adhesin A.

Adhesion to host cells is the first and most crucial step in infections with pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria and is often mediated by trimeric autotransporter adhesins (TAAs). Bartonella henselae targets the extracellular matrix glycoprotein fibronectin (Fn) via the adhesin A (BadA) attaching the bacteria to the host cell. The TAA BadA is characterized by a highly repetitive passenger domain consisting of 30 neck/stalk domains with various degrees of similarity.