The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 25, Issue 3 175-181, Copyright © 1988 by Society for General Microbiology
Lack of correlation between haemagglutination and adherence to epithelial cells in Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
Y. Kawaoka, T. Mitani, K. Hoshina, K. Otsuki and M. Tsubokura
Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Japan.
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis was examined for its haemagglutinating activity
and adherence to cultured epithelial cells (HEp-2) in relation to
possession of a virulence (VW) plasmid and to growth conditions. VW-lacking
(VW-) bacteria were isolated from ten VW+ strains of each serovar which,
after they were grown on CFA plates at 37 degrees C, agglutinated the
erythrocytes from five different species. In contrast to the bacteria
possessing the plasmid (VW+) half of the VW- bacteria, grown on CFA plates
at 37 degrees C, did not agglutinate any of the erythrocytes used and the
other half agglutinated only human erythrocytes. Furthermore, when grown on
CFA plates at 25 degrees C, neither VW+ nor VW- bacteria showed a
haemagglutinating activity. When the bacteria were grown in CFA broth, only
two strains grown at 25 degrees C did not agglutinate any of the
erythrocytes tested. The VW+ and VW- bacteria of the remaining strains,
grown either at 25 degrees C or 37 degrees C, showed relatively high
haemagglutinating activity. Adherence to HEp-2 cells did not correlate with
haemagglutinating activity in Y. pseudotuberculosis; the VW+ bacteria grown
at 37 degrees C adhered to HEp-2 cells more efficiently than either the VW-
derivatives or the VW+ bacteria grown at 25 degrees C, regardless of the
growth medium. These results indicate that some of the haemagglutinins
detected on Y. pseudotuberculosis are not involved in the adherence to
HEp-2 cells.
