%0 Journal Article %A Chart, Henrik %A Scotland, Sylvia M. %A Willshaw, Geraldine A. %A Rowe, Bernard %T HEp-2 Adhesion and the Expression of a 94 kDa Outer-membrane Protein by Strains of Escherichia coli Belonging to Enteropathogenic Serogroups %D 1988 %J Microbiology, %V 134 %N 5 %P 1315-1321 %@ 1465-2080 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/00221287-134-5-1315 %I Microbiology Society, %X Sixty strains of Escherichia coli belonging to enteropathogenic serogroups (EPEC) were examined for the ability to adhere to HEp-2 cells, the possession of the genes encoding EPEC adherence factor (EAF) and the ability to express an outer-membrane protein (OMP) of 94 kDa thought to be involved in bacterial adhesion to eukaryotic cells. An absolute correlation was found between HEp-2 adhesion and the possession of the genes encoding EAF. An OMP of 94 kDa was observed in the SDS-PAGE profile of most adhesive strains. In some strains this protein was prone to proteolytic degradation. An antiserum raised to a HEp-2 adhesive strain of EPEC did not react with the 94 kDa OMP of all EPEC which were EAF-positive and HEp-2 adhesive, indicating some interstrain antigenic variation of this protein. Although this 94 kDa protein was surface-exposed, specific antibodies binding to the 94 kDa protein in situ in the outer membrane did not interfere with adhesion of EPEC to HEp-2 cells. Therefore, these studies question the value of this protein as a potential vaccine component. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-134-5-1315