Role of energy metabolism in Mycoplasma pneumoniae attachment to glass surfaces

Abstract

Attachment values of Mycoplasma pneumoniae to glass are normally very low when tested in buffer containing bovine serum albumin (10 mg/ml). However, the addition of one of the metabolizable sugars glucose, fructose, or mannose increased attachment more than 10-fold. The effect was dose dependent with a distinct optimum at about 0.25 mg/ml. Higher concentrations reduced this effect. Not only the sugars themselves but also the products of their catabolism, pyruvate and phosphoenolpyruvate, enhanced attachment. Pyruvate was effective in the same range of concentrations as the sugars, whereas phosphoenolpyruvate enhanced attachment at a significantly lower concentration (0.001 mg/ml). Higher levels of these substances also resulted in a decrease of attachment. The glucose-induced increase could be partially inhibited by glucose analogs, especially by 3-O-methyl-glucopyranoside, and by various inhibitors or glycolysis. Furthermore, attachment was strongly reduced by the uncoupling agents carbonylcyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone and 2,4-dinitrophenol, as well as by dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, an inhibitor of the membrane-bound Mg2+-adenosine triphosphatase, whereas the ionophore valinomycin increased attachment by about 30%. These findings provide strong evidence for coupling between the attachment process of M. pneumoniae to glass and the utilization of metabolic energy.