The major structural subunits of Dr and F1845 fimbriae are adhesins

Fimbrial adhesins mediate the attachment of pathogenic Escherichia coli to various host tissues leading to the development of disease. The Dr hemagglutinin and F1845 fimbriae belong to the Dr family of adhesins, which is associated with urinary tract infections and diarrheal disease. These adhesins bind to the Dr(a) blood-group antigen present on decay-accelerating factor (DAF). The Dr hemagglutinin is unique in this family since it also binds to type IV collagen and its binding is inhibited by the presence of chloramphenicol. We have purified the major structural subunits of Dr and F1845 fimbriae, DraE and DaaE, as fusions to maltose-binding protein and to oligohistidine tags and examined their binding to erythrocytes, Chinese hamster ovary cell transfectants expressing DAF, and a DAF fusion protein. The DraE and DaaE fusion proteins bind to the DAF receptor in a specific manner resembling the distinct phenotypes of the corresponding Dr and F1845 fimbriae. In contrast to binding studies with the DAF receptor, the DraE fusion proteins did not bind to type IV collagen.