Synthesis, conformational analysis, and biological evaluation of peptides from E. coli P pilus proteins
Many bacteria utilize hairlike protein appendages (pili) to attach themselves to mucosal cell surfaces in the host organism. The pilus is assembled from protein subunits synthesized inside the bacteria and transported to the outer cell wall for incorporation into the growing pilus. During the transport the pilus proteins are attached to a chaperone that protects them from aggregation and proteloty