Biomimetic materials to characterize bacteria-host interactions

Daniel Stones, Fitua Al-Saedi, Diana Vaz, Nicolas Perez Soto, Anne Marie Krachler

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)
217 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Bacterial attachment to host cells is one of the earliest events during bacterial colonization of host tissues and thus a key step during infection. The biochemical and functional characterization of adhesins mediating these initial bacteria-host interactions is often compromised by the presence of other bacterial factors, such as cell wall components or secreted molecules, which interfere with the analysis. This protocol describes the production and use of biomimetic materials, consisting of pure recombinant adhesins chemically coupled to commercially available, functionalized polystyrene beads, which have been used successfully to dissect the biochemical and functional interactions between individual bacterial adhesins and host cell receptors. Protocols for different coupling chemistries, allowing directional immobilization of recombinant adhesins on polymer scaffolds, and for assessment of the coupling efficiency of the resulting “bacteriomimetic” materials are also discussed. We further describe how these materials can be used as a tool to inhibit pathogen mediated cytotoxicity and discuss scope, limitations and further applications of this approach in studying bacterial - host interactions.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere53400
JournalJournal of Visualized Experiments
Issue number105
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Nov 2015

Keywords

  • Infection
  • Host-pathogen interaction
  • bacterial adhesion
  • host cell attachment
  • adhesin
  • biomimicry
  • bioengineering
  • chemical biology

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