The Fab portion of the antibodies made against epitopes of adherence structures such as pili bind and block the bacteria from adhering to the host cell membrane. As a result, the bacteria may be flushed away. Antibody molecules made against the adhesive tip of pili block the adhesive tip from binding to receptors on host cell membranes (see Fig. 7B)

Illustration of Bacterial Adherence Via Pili .jpg by Gary E. Kaiser, Ph.D.
Professor of Microbiology, The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://cwoer.ccbcmd.edu/science/microbiology/index_gos.html.

Last updated: August, 2018
Please send comments and inquiries to Dr. Gary Kaiser