A 66-kilodalton heat shock protein of Salmonella typhimurium is responsible for binding of the bacterium to intestinal mucus

Salmonella typhimurium infections have increased during the last few years. However, the interplay of virulence factors in S. typhimurium pathogenesis is still poorly understood, particularly with regard to the mechanisms and components of the bacterium which are involved in its interaction with the intestinal mucus. We have observed that S. typhimurium is aggregated by incubation with colonic mucus (guinea pig model). To quantify this phenomenon, an aggregation assay was established. By using this assay, it was found that the aggregation profile of S. typhimurium strains freshly isolated from patients (age 9 and older) with salmonellosis correlated with the severity of the disease. An isol…