Increased expression of type-1 fimbriae by nonpathogenic Escherichia coli 83972 results in an increased capacity for catheter adherence and bacterial interference.

Background: In vitro, urinary catheter colonization by avirulent Escherichia coli 83972 impedes subsequent catheter colonization by a variety of uropathogenic organisms. However, E. coli 83972 shows a low efficacy of adherence to silicone urinary catheter material, possibly because the fim operon encoding adhesive type 1 fimbriae is incomplete.

The core lipopolysaccharide of Escherichia coli is a ligand for the dendritic-cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule nonintegrin CD209 receptor.

The dendritic-cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule nonintegrin (DC-SIGN) CD209 is a receptor for Escherichia coli K-12 that promotes bacterial adherence and phagocytosis. However, the ligand of E. coli for DC-SIGN has not yet been identified.

Pre-inoculation of urinary catheters with Escherichia coli 83972 inhibits catheter colonization by Enterococcus faecalis.

Purpose: The capacity of a preexisting coating of Escherichia coli 83972 to reduce catheter colonization by Enterococcus faecalis 210 was investigated. Enterococcus was chosen for these trials since it is a common urinary pathogen in patients with an indwelling urinary catheter.

Materials And Methods: Each experiment tested 3 growth conditions.