TheMoraxella catarrhalisPorin-Like Outer Membrane Protein CD Is an Adhesin for Human Lung Cells

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Abstract
The outer membrane protein CD (OMPCD) ofMoraxella catarrhalisis an outer membrane protein with several attributes of a potential vaccine antigen. We isolated four transposon mutants of strain O35E on the basis of their reduced binding to A549 human lung cells in microcolony formation assays, and we determined that they contain a transposon inompCD. We also found that these transposon insertions had pleiotropic effects: mutants grew slower, became serum sensitive, bound ∼10-fold less to A549 cells, and appeared transparent when grown on solid medium. We confirmed that these various phenotypes could be attributed solely to disruption ofompCDby constructing the isogenic strain O35E.CD1. O35E-ompCDwas cloned, and recombinantEscherichia colibacteria expressing the gene product exhibited a 10-fold increase in adherence to A549 cells. This is the first report ofM. catarrhalis ompCDmutants, and our findings demonstrate that this gene product is an adhesin for human lung cells.

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