Studies in swine on inheritance and variation in expression of small intestinal receptors mediating adhesion of the K88 enteropathogenic Escherichia coli variants.

Small intestinal enterocyte preparations from 368 pigs were phenotyped by an in vitro adhesion test using six strains of K88 Escherichia (E.) coli, each expressing one of three K88 fimbrial antigenic variants: K88ab, K88ac, or K88ad. All pigs tested were classified into one of four adhesion brush border phenotypes: I (K88ab-, K88ac-, K88ad-); II (K88ab-, K88ac-, K88ad+); III (K88ab+, K88ac+, K88ad-); or IV (K88ab+, K88ac+, K88ad+). The segregation and adhesion affinity data suggest that there are two adhesion affinity receptors for K88ad+ E. coli: a high affinity (adH) and a low affinity (adL) receptor. The high affinity receptor cosegregates with receptors for K88ab and K88ac fimbrial antigens forming together the phenotype IV; the low affinity receptor is associated with the adhesion phenotype II, and its physiological expression is terminated by 16 weeks of age. In contrast, the K88adH receptor is expressed during the entire life cycle. The presence of a mixed adhesion phenotype, K88adM, assumed to be determined by K88ab(-),ac(-),adL(+)/K88ab(+),ac(+),adH(+) heterozygous genotype, is interpreted as an indication that each of the two types of brush border adhesion for the K88ad antigen is expressed on independent enterocytes.