Renal scars are thought to be the end stage of chronic pyelonephritis and one of the most important causes of renal insufficiency and renal hypertension. The role of bacterial pili was examined in scar formation after an infection of newly constructed bacterial strains using the recombinant DNA technique, which possessed either mannose resistant (MR) or mannose sensitive (MS) pili of Serratia marcescens. Strains that differed in only a single virulence factor, namely, MR or MS pili, were used in a rat model of chronic pyelonephritis. In this model, MS-piliated bacteria stimulated renal scarring more severely than non-piliated or MR-piliated bacteria.