Phosphocholine decoration of Proteus mirabilis O18 LPS induces hydrophobicity of the cell surface and electrokinetic potential, but does not alter the adhesion to solid surfaces

Grzegorz Czerwonka; Katarzyna Durlik-Popińska; Marcin Drabik; Martyna Szczerba; Maria Kwiatkowska; Wiesław Kaca

doi:10.1016/j.tcsw.2022.100079

Phosphocholine decoration of Proteus mirabilis O18 LPS induces hydrophobicity of the cell surface and electrokinetic potential, but does not alter the adhesion to solid surfaces

Cell Surf. 2022 Jun 15:8:100079. doi: 10.1016/j.tcsw.2022.100079. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Grzegorz Czerwonka¹, Katarzyna Durlik-Popińska¹, Marcin Drabik², Martyna Szczerba¹, Maria Kwiatkowska¹, Wiesław Kaca¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland.
² Department of Astrophysics, Institute of Physics, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland.

Abstract

Proteus mirabilis harbours a variety of O antigens, permitting evasion of the host immune response. LPS decoration with phosphocholine increases cell surface hydrophobicity and decreases electrokinetic potential, which may interfere with antibody interaction and bacterial surface recognition. The decoration does not influence adherence to solid surfaces.

Keywords: Biofilm; Cell surface hydrophobicity; Phosphocholine; Proteus mirabilis O18; TEPC-15 antibodies; Zeta potential.