Inhibitors of the adhesiveness of enteropathogenic E. coli.

The entero-pathogenic strain of E. coli 0125: K 70 was able to adhere to washed guinea-pig erythrocytes and to cause their agglutination. Electron microscopy revealed this strain to be rich in fimbriae. They were able to cause hemagglutination by themselves, generally at protein concentration of 10 to 100 mug per ml. D-mannose and alpha-methylmannoside were able to inhibit hemagglutination by the whole bacteria or their isolated fimbriae at concentrations of 0.003 to 0.012 mg/ml. L-mannose, D-lactose, D-glucose, N-acetylglucosamine, D-galactose, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, D-fucose, did not exert any inhibiting effect at concentrations as high as 50 mg/ml. N-acetyl-neuraminic acid was also uneffective at concentration as high as 9 mg/ml.