Haemophilus influenzae P4 interacts with extracellular matrix proteins promoting adhesion and serum resistance.
Interaction with the extracellular matrix (ECM) is one of the successful colonization strategies employed by non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi). Here we identified Haemophilus lipoprotein 4 (P4) as a receptor for ECM proteins. Purified recombinant P4 displayed a high binding affinity for laminin (Kd=9.26 nM) and fibronectin (Kd=10.19 nM), but slightly less to vitronectin (Kd=16.51 nM). A P