Impairments in enzyme activity and biosynthesis of brush border-associated hydrolases in human intestinal Caco-2/TC7 cells infected by members of the Afa/Dr family of diffusely adhering Escherichia coli

Pathogenesis of human diffusely adhering Escherichia coli expressing Afa/Dr adhesins (Afa/Dr DAEC): current insights and future challenges

The pathogenicity and clinical pertinence of diffusely adhering Escherichia coli expressing the Afa/Dr adhesins (Afa/Dr DAEC) in urinary tract infections (UTIs) and pregnancy complications are well established. In contrast, the implication of intestinal Afa/Dr DAEC in diarrhea is still under debate. These strains are age dependently involved in diarrhea in children, are apparently not involved in diarrhea in adults, and can also be asymptomatic intestinal microbiota strains in children and adult. This comprehensive review analyzes the epidemiology and diagnosis and highlights recent progress which has improved the understanding of Afa/Dr DAEC pathogenesis. Here, I summarize the roles of Afa/Dr DAEC virulence factors, including Afa/Dr adhesins, flagella, Sat toxin, and pks island products, in the development of specific mechanisms of pathogenicity. In intestinal epithelial polarized cells, the Afa/Dr adhesins trigger cell membrane receptor clustering and activation of the linked cell signaling pathways, promote structural and functional cell lesions and injuries in intestinal barrier, induce proinflammatory responses, create angiogenesis, instigate epithelial-mesenchymal transition-like events, and lead to pks-dependent DNA damage. UTI-associated Afa/Dr DAEC strains, following adhesin-membrane receptor cell interactions and activation of associated lipid raft-dependent cell signaling pathways, internalize in a microtubule-dependent manner within urinary tract epithelial cells, develop a particular intracellular lifestyle, and trigger a toxin-dependent cell detachment. In response to Afa/Dr DAEC infection, the host epithelial cells generate antibacterial defense responses. Finally, I discuss a hypothetical role of intestinal Afa/Dr DAEC strains that can act as "silent pathogens" with the capacity to emerge as "pathobionts" for the development of inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal carcinogenesis.

Intra-subtype variation in enteroadhesion accounts for differences in epithelial barrier disruption and is associated with metronidazole resistance in Blastocystis subtype-7

Blastocystis is an extracellular, enteric pathogen that induces intestinal disorders in a range of hosts including humans. Recent studies have identified potential parasite virulence factors in and host responses to this parasite; however, little is known about Blastocystis-host attachment, which is crucial for colonization and virulence of luminal stages. By utilizing 7 different strains of the parasite belonging to two clinically relevant subtypes ST-4 and ST-7, we investigated Blastocystis-enterocyte adhesion and its association with parasite-induced epithelial barrier disruption. We also suggest that drug resistance in ST-7 strains might result in fitness cost that manifested as impairment of parasite adhesion and, consequently, virulence. ST-7 parasites were generally highly adhesive to Caco-2 cells and preferred binding to intercellular junctions. These strains also induced disruption of ZO-1 and occludin tight junction proteins as well as increased dextran-FITC flux across epithelial monolayers. Interestingly, their adhesion was correlated with metronidazole (Mz) susceptibility. Mz resistant (Mzr) strains were found to be less pathogenic, owing to compromised adhesion. Moreover, tolerance of nitrosative stress was also reduced in the Mzr strains. In conclusion, the findings indicate that Blastocystis attaches to intestinal epithelium and leads to epithelial barrier dysfunction and that drug resistance might entail a fitness cost in parasite virulence by limiting entero-adhesiveness. This is the first study of the cellular basis for strain-to-strain variation in parasite pathogenicity. Intra- and inter-subtype variability in cytopathogenicity provides a possible explanation for the diverse clinical outcomes of Blastocystis infections.

Pathogenesis of human enterovirulent bacteria: lessons from cultured, fully differentiated human colon cancer cell lines

Hosts are protected from attack by potentially harmful enteric microorganisms, viruses, and parasites by the polarized fully differentiated epithelial cells that make up the epithelium, providing a physical and functional barrier. Enterovirulent bacteria interact with the epithelial polarized cells lining the intestinal barrier, and some invade the cells. A better understanding of the cross talk between enterovirulent bacteria and the polarized intestinal cells has resulted in the identification of essential enterovirulent bacterial structures and virulence gene products playing pivotal roles in pathogenesis. Cultured animal cell lines and cultured human nonintestinal, undifferentiated epithelial cells have been extensively used for understanding the mechanisms by which some human enterovirulent bacteria induce intestinal disorders. Human colon carcinoma cell lines which are able to express in culture the functional and structural characteristics of mature enterocytes and goblet cells have been established, mimicking structurally and functionally an intestinal epithelial barrier. Moreover, Caco-2-derived M-like cells have been established, mimicking the bacterial capture property of M cells of Peyer's patches. This review intends to analyze the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis of human enterovirulent bacteria observed in infected cultured human colon carcinoma enterocyte-like HT-29 subpopulations, enterocyte-like Caco-2 and clone cells, the colonic T84 cell line, HT-29 mucus-secreting cell subpopulations, and Caco-2-derived M-like cells, including cell association, cell entry, intracellular lifestyle, structural lesions at the brush border, functional lesions in enterocytes and goblet cells, functional and structural lesions at the junctional domain, and host cellular defense responses.

Actin cytoskeleton manipulation by effector proteins secreted by diarrheagenic Escherichia coli pathotypes

The actin cytoskeleton is a dynamic structure necessary for cell and tissue organization, including the maintenance of epithelial barriers. Disruption of the epithelial barrier coincides with alterations of the actin cytoskeleton in several disease states. These disruptions primarily affect the paracellular space, which is normally regulated by tight junctions. Thereby, the actin cytoskeleton is a common and recurring target of bacterial virulence factors. In order to manipulate the actin cytoskeleton, bacteria secrete and inject toxins and effectors to hijack the host cell machinery, which interferes with host-cell pathways and with a number of actin binding proteins. An interesting model to study actin manipulation by bacterial effectors is Escherichia coli since due to its genome plasticity it has acquired diverse genetic mobile elements, which allow having different E. coli varieties in one bacterial species. These E. coli pathotypes, including intracellular and extracellular bacteria, interact with epithelial cells, and their interactions depend on a specific combination of virulence factors. In this paper we focus on E. coli effectors that mimic host cell proteins to manipulate the actin cytoskeleton. The study of bacterial effector-cytoskeleton interaction will contribute not only to the comprehension of the molecular causes of infectious diseases but also to increase our knowledge of cell biology.

A protocol for in situ enzyme assays to assess the differentiation of human intestinal Caco-2 cells

The Caco-2 cell line spontaneously differentiates into polarised enterocytes expressing high levels of brush border enzymes typical of small intestinal epithelial cells (peptidases, alkaline phosphatase, disaccharidases). The activities of these enzymes gradually increase after cell confluence reaching a plateau after 2-3 weeks of culture and can be used as reliable markers to evaluate differentiation of Caco-2 cells. We have developed a rapid in situ method on live cells to measure activities of alkaline phosphatase, alanyl amino peptidase and sucrase. The substrates were added to the apical compartment of confluent cells maintained for 8, 15 and 21 days on polycarbonate filter inserts and sampling was performed at time intervals. Alkaline phosphatase and alanyl aminopeptidase were assayed using as substrates p-Nitrophenyl phosphate and alanine-p-nitroanilide, respectively, and the yellow product detected spectrophotometrically at 405 nm. Sucrase activity was measured as the release of glucose from sucrose using a fluorimetric assay (Amplex® Red Glucose Assay Kit) in which H(2)O(2), produced by the coupled glucose oxidase/horseradish peroxidase reactions, oxidises the colourless reagent to red-fluorescent resorufin. All these assays are rapid and reproducible and can easily be adapted to robotised high throughput platforms.

Lipid raft-dependent adhesion of Giardia intestinalis trophozoites to a cultured human enterocyte-like Caco-2/TC7 cell monolayer leads to cytoskeleton-dependent functional injuries

Gardia intestinalis, the aetiological agent of giardiasis, one of the most common intestinal diseases in both developing and developed countries, induces a loss of epithelial barrier function and functional injuries of the enterocyte by mechanisms that remain unknown. Three possible mechanisms have been proposed: (i) Giardia may directly alter the epithelial barrier after a close interaction between the trophozoite and polarized intestinal cells, (ii) intestinal functions may be altered by factors secreted by Giardia including an 'enterotoxin', proteinases and lectins, and (iii) based on mouse studies, a mechanism involving the intervention of activated T lymphocytes. We used fully differentiated cultured human intestinal Caco-2/TC7 cells forming a monolayer and expressing several polarized functions of enterocytes of small intestine to investigate the mechanisms by which G. intestinalis induces structural and functional alterations in the host intestinal epithelium. We first report that adhesion of G. intestinalis at the brush border of enterocyte-like cells involves the lipid raft membrane microdomains of the trophozoite. We report an adhesion-dependent disorganization of the apical F-actin cytoskeleton that, in turn, results in a dramatic loss of distribution of functional brush border-associated proteins, including sucrase-isomaltase (SI), dipeptidylpeptidase IV (DPP IV) and fructose transporter, GLUT5, and a decrease in sucrose enzyme activity in G. intestinalis-infected enterocyte-like cells. We observed that the G. intestinalis trophozoite promotes an adhesion-dependent decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) accompanied by a rearrangement of functional tight junction (TJ)-associated occludin, and delocalization of claudin-1. Finally, we found that whereas the occludin rearrangement induced by G. intestinalis was related to apical F-actin disorganization, the delocalization of claudin-1 was not.

The single IgG IL-1-related receptor controls TLR responses in differentiated human intestinal epithelial cells

Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) are constantly exposed to enteric microbes. Although IECs express TLRs that recognize bacterial products, the activation of these TLRs is strictly controlled through poorly understood mechanisms, producing a state of hyporesponsiveness and preventing unwanted inflammation. The single IgG IL-1-related receptor (Sigirr) is a negative regulator of TLRs that is expressed by IECs and was recently shown to inhibit experimental colitis. However, the importance of Sigirr in IEC hyporesponsiveness and its distribution within the human colon is unknown. In this study, we investigated the role of Sigirr in regulating epithelial-specific TLR responses and characterized its expression in colonic biopsy specimens. Transformed and nontransformed human IECs were cultured as monolayers. Transient gene silencing and stable overexpression of Sigirr was performed to assess innate IEC responses. Sigirr expression in human colonic biopsy specimens was examined by immunohistochemistry. Bacterial infection of IECs and exposure to flagellin transiently decreased Sigirr protein expression, concurrent with secretion of the neutrophil chemokine IL-8. Sigirr gene silencing augmented chemokine responses to bacterial flagellin, Pam3Cys, and the cytokine IL-1beta. Conversely, stable overexpression of Sigirr diminished NF-kappaB-mediated IL-8 responses to TLR ligands. We also found that Sigirr expression increased as IECs differentiated in culture. This observation was confirmed in biopsy sections, in which Sigirr expression within colonic crypts was prominent in IECs at the apex and diminished at the base. Our findings show that Sigirr broadly regulates innate responses in differentiated human IECs; therefore, it may modulate epithelial involvement in infectious and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Rotavirus impairs the biosynthesis of brush-border-associated dipeptidyl peptidase IV in human enterocyte-like Caco-2/TC7 cells

Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe dehydrating diarrhoea in infants and young children worldwide. This virus infects mature enterocytes in the small intestine, and induces structural and functional damage. In the present study, we have identified a new mechanism by which rotavirus impairs a brush border-associated intestinal protein. We show that infection of enterocyte-like Caco-2/TC7 cells by rhesus monkey rotavirus (RRV) impairs the biosynthesis of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV), an important hydrolase in the digestion of dietary proline-rich proteins. We show that the enzyme activity of DPP IV was reduced, and that rearrangements of the protein occurred at the apical domain of the RRV-infected cells. Using pulse-chase experiments and cell surface immunoprecipitation, we have demonstrated that RRV infection did not affect the stability or apical targeting of DPP IV, but did induce a dramatic decrease in its biosynthesis. Using quantitative RT-PCR, we showed that RRV had no effect on the level of expression of DPP IV mRNA, suggesting that the observed decrease in the biosynthesis of the protein is related to an effect of the virus at the translational level.

Diffusely adherent Escherichia coli strains expressing Afa/Dr adhesins (Afa/Dr DAEC): hitherto unrecognized pathogens

Diffusely adherent Escherichia coli (DAEC) strains are currently considered to constitute a putative sixth group of diarrheagenic E. coli. However, on the basis of their diffuse adherence to HEp-2 and HeLa cells, the detection of afa/dra/daa-related operons encoding this adherence phenotype, and the mobilization of decay-accelerating factor, both commensal and pathogenic strains can be classified as Afa/Dr DAEC isolates. Furthermore, strains associated with diarrheal diseases and strains causing extra-intestinal infections can also be identified as Afa/Dr DAEC strains. Although several cell signaling events that occur after epithelial cells have been infected by Afa/Dr DAEC have been reported, the pathophysiological processes that allow intestinal and extra-intestinal infections to develop are not fully understood. This review focuses on the genetic organization of the afa/dra/daa-related operons and on the virulence factors that trigger cellular responses, some of which are deleterious for the host cells. Finally, this review suggests future lines of research that could help to elucidate these questions.

Adhesins of Diffusely Adherent and Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli

Epidemiological studies have implicated enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) strains in acute and persistent diarrhea in children, in food-borne diarrhea outbreaks, and in traveler's diarrhea, and this group is recognized as an emerging pathotype of enteric disease. Diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC) have been implicated as a cause of diarrhea, especially in children more than 2 years old, in both developing and developed countries. Although EAEC and DAEC strains appear to have different molecular equipment for attachment to host cell surfaces, identification and characterization of the gene clusters encoding adherence evidenced close relatedness between those determinants most frequently detected in isolates belonging to these two pathotypes of diarrheagenic E. coli. DAEC strains are a heterogeneous group of E. coli isolates, many of which express the related so-called Dr adhesins. The single designation is based on the identification of one similar cellular receptor for all these proteins. Although structurally different, they all recognize the Dr human blood group antigen on the decay-accelerating factor (DAF or CD55). These adhesins are encoded by a family of closely related operons, the first characterized and sequenced being the afa operon. Consequently, it has been suggested that this group of DAEC strains producing such adhesins be named the Afa/Dr DAEC family. Three distinct but closely related gene clusters coding for phenotypically and morphologically distinct aggregative adherence fimbriae (AAF) have been characterized. In each case, electron microscopy revealed that bacterial surfaces were surrounded by long, relatively flexible fimbrial structures.

Pathogenesis of Afa/Dr diffusely adhering Escherichia coli

Over the last few years, dramatic increases in our knowledge about diffusely adhering Escherichia coli (DAEC) pathogenesis have taken place. The typical class of DAEC includes E. coli strains harboring AfaE-I, AfaE-II, AfaE-III, AfaE-V, Dr, Dr-II, F1845, and NFA-I adhesins (Afa/Dr DAEC); these strains (i) have an identical genetic organization and (ii) allow binding to human decay-accelerating factor (DAF) (Afa/Dr(DAF) subclass) or carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (Afa/Dr(CEA) subclass). The atypical class of DAEC includes two subclasses of strains; the atypical subclass 1 includes E. coli strains that express AfaE-VII, AfaE-VIII, AAF-I, AAF-II, and AAF-III adhesins, which (i) have an identical genetic organization and (ii) do not bind to human DAF, and the atypical subclass 2 includes E. coli strains that harbor Afa/Dr adhesins or others adhesins promoting diffuse adhesion, together with pathogenicity islands such as the LEE pathogenicity island (DA-EPEC). In this review, the focus is on Afa/Dr DAEC strains that have been found to be associated with urinary tract infections and with enteric infection. The review aims to provide a broad overview and update of the virulence aspects of these intriguing pathogens. Epidemiological studies, diagnostic techniques, characteristic molecular features of Afa/Dr operons, and the respective role of Afa/Dr adhesins and invasins in pathogenesis are described. Following the recognition of membrane-bound receptors, including type IV collagen, DAF, CEACAM1, CEA, and CEACAM6, by Afa/Dr adhesins, activation of signal transduction pathways leads to structural and functional injuries at brush border and junctional domains and to proinflammatory responses in polarized intestinal cells. In addition, uropathogenic Afa/Dr DAEC strains, following recognition of beta(1) integrin as a receptor, enter epithelial cells by a zipper-like, raft- and microtubule-dependent mechanism. Finally, the presence of other, unknown virulence factors and the way that an Afa/Dr DAEC strain emerges from the human intestinal microbiota as a "silent pathogen" are discussed.

Antagonistic activities of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria against microbial pathogens

The gastrointestinal tract is a complex ecosystem that associates a resident microbiota and cells of various phenotypes lining the epithelial wall expressing complex metabolic activities. The resident microbiota in the digestive tract is a heterogeneous microbial ecosystem containing up to 1 x 10(14) colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria. The intestinal microbiota plays an important role in normal gut function and maintaining host health. The host is protected from attack by potentially harmful microbial microorganisms by the physical and chemical barriers created by the gastrointestinal epithelium. The cells lining the gastrointestinal epithelium and the resident microbiota are two partners that properly and/or synergistically function to promote an efficient host system of defence. The gastrointestinal cells that make up the epithelium, provide a physical barrier that protects the host against the unwanted intrusion of microorganisms into the gastrointestinal microbiota, and against the penetration of harmful microorganisms which usurp the cellular molecules and signalling pathways of the host to become pathogenic. One of the basic physiological functions of the resident microbiota is that it functions as a microbial barrier against microbial pathogens. The mechanisms by which the species of the microbiota exert this barrier effect remain largely to be determined. There is increasing evidence that lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, which inhabit the gastrointestinal microbiota, develop antimicrobial activities that participate in the host's gastrointestinal system of defence. The objective of this review is to analyze the in vitro and in vivo experimental and clinical studies in which the antimicrobial activities of selected lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains have been documented.

Human diffusely adhering Escherichia coli expressing Afa/Dr adhesins that use human CD55 (decay-accelerating factor) as a receptor does not bind the rodent and pig analogues of CD55

Afa/Dr diffusely adhering Escherichia coli (DAEC) bacteria that are responsible for recurrent urinary tract and gastrointestinal infections recognized as a receptor the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein decay-accelerating factor (DAF; CD55) at the brush border of cultured human intestinal cells. Results show that Afa/Dr DAEC C1845 bacteria were poorly associated with the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract of infected mice. We conducted experiments with Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected with mouse (GPI or transmembrane forms), pig, or human CD55 or mouse Crry cDNAs or transfected with empty vector pDR2EF1 alpha. Recombinant E. coli AAEC185 bacteria expressing Dr or F1845 adhesins bound strongly to CHO cells expressing human CD55 but not to the CHO cells expressing mouse (transmembrane and GPI anchored), rat, or pig CD55 or mouse Crry. Positive clustering of CD55 around Dr-positive bacteria was observed in human CD55-expressing CHO cells but not around the rarely adhering Dr-positive bacteria randomly distributed at the cell surface of CHO cells expressing mouse, rat, or pig CD55.

A cyclic AMP protein kinase A-dependent mechanism by which rotavirus impairs the expression and enzyme activity of brush border-associated sucrase-isomaltase in differentiated intestinal Caco-2 cells

We undertook a study of the mechanism by which rhesus monkey rotavirus (RRV) impairs the expression and enzyme activity of brush border-associated sucrase isomaltase (SI) in cultured, human, fully differentiated, intestinal Caco-2 cells. We provide evidence that the RRV-induced defects in the expression and enzyme activity of SI are not related to the previously observed, RRV-induced, Ca2+ -dependent, disassembly of the F-actin cytoskeleton. This conclusion is based on the facts that: (i) the intracellular Ca2+ blocker, BAPTA/AM, which antagonizes the RRV-induced increase in [Ca2+](i), fails to inhibit the RRV-induced decrease in SI expression and enzyme activity; and (ii) Jasplakinolide (JAS) treatment, known to stabilize actin filaments, had no effect on the RRV-induced decrease in SI expression. Results reported here demonstrate that the RRV-induced impairment in the expression and enzyme activity of brush border-associated SI results from a hitherto unknown mechanism involving PKA signalling. This conclusion is based on the observations that (i) intracellular cAMP was increased in RRV-infected cells and (ii) treatment of RRV-infected cells with PKA blockers resulted in the reappearance of apical SI expression, accompanied by the restoration of the enzyme activity at the brush border. In addition, in RRV-infected cells a twofold increase of phosphorylated form of cytokeratin 18 was observed after immunopurification and Western Blot analysis, which was antagonized by exposing the RRV-infected cells to the PKA blockers.

Pathogenic Escherichia coli

Few microorganisms are as versatile as Escherichia coli. An important member of the normal intestinal microflora of humans and other mammals, E. coli has also been widely exploited as a cloning host in recombinant DNA technology. But E. coli is more than just a laboratory workhorse or harmless intestinal inhabitant; it can also be a highly versatile, and frequently deadly, pathogen. Several different E. coli strains cause diverse intestinal and extraintestinal diseases by means of virulence factors that affect a wide range of cellular processes.

Proteomic analysis of the intestinal epithelial cell response to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

We present the first large scale proteomic analysis of a human cellular response to a pathogen. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an enteric human pathogen responsible for much childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. EPEC uses a type III secretion system (TTSS) to inject bacterial proteins into the cytosol of intestinal epithelial cells, resulting in diarrhea. We analyzed the host response to TTSS-delivered EPEC effector proteins by infecting polarized intestinal epithelial monolayers with either wild-type or TTSS-deficient EPEC. Host proteins were isolated and subjected to quantitative profiling using isotope-coded affinity tagging (ICAT) combined with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. We identified over 2000 unique proteins from infected Caco-2 monolayers, of which approximately 13% are expressed differentially in the presence of TTSS-delivered EPEC effector proteins. We validated these data in silico and through immunoblotting and immunofluorescence microscopy. The identified changes extend cytoskeletal observations made in less relevant cell types and generate testable hypotheses with regard to host proteins potentially involved in EPEC-induced diarrhea. These data provide a framework for future biochemical analyses of host-pathogen interactions.

Afa/Dr diffusely adhering Escherichia coli infection in T84 cell monolayers induces increased neutrophil transepithelial migration, which in turn promotes cytokine-dependent upregulation of decay-accelerating factor (CD55), the receptor for Afa/Dr adhesins

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease are inflammatory bowel diseases thought to involve strains of Escherichia coli. We report here that two wild-type Afa/Dr diffusely adhering E. coli (DAEC) strains, C1845 and IH11128, which harbor the fimbrial F1845 adhesin and the Dr hemagglutinin, respectively, and the E. coli laboratory strain HB101, transformed with the pSSS1 plasmid to produce Afa/Dr F1845 adhesin, all induced interleukin-8 (IL-8) production and transepithelial migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) in polarized monolayers of the human intestinal cell line T84 grown on semipermeable filters. We observed that after PMNL migration, expression of decay-accelerating factor (DAF, or CD55), the brush border-associated receptor for Afa/Dr adhesins, was strongly enhanced, increasing the adhesion of Afa/Dr DAEC bacteria. When examining the mechanism by which DAF expression was enhanced, we observed that the PMNL transepithelial migration induced epithelial synthesis of tumor necrosis factor alpha and IL-1beta, which in turn promoted the upregulation of DAF.

Representational difference analysis between Afa/Dr diffusely adhering Escherichia coli and nonpathogenic E. coli K-12

Diffusely adhering Escherichia coli strains harboring Afa/Dr adhesins (Afa/Dr DAEC) have been associated with diarrhea and urinary tract infections (UTIs). The present work is the first extensive molecular study of a Afa/Dr DAEC strain using the representational difference analysis technique. We have searched for DNA sequences present in strain C1845, recovered from a diarrheagenic child, but absent from a nonpathogenic K-12 strain. Strain C1845 harbors part of a pathogenicity island (PAI(CFT073)) and several iron transport systems found in other E. coli pathovars. We did not find genes encoding factors known to subvert host cell proteins, such as type III secretion system or effector proteins. Several C1845-specific sequences are homologous to putative virulence genes or show no homology with known sequences, and we have analyzed their distribution among Afa/Dr and non-Afa/Dr clinical isolates and among strains from the E. coli Reference Collection. Three C1845-specific sequences (MO30, S109, and S111) have a high prevalence (77 to 80%) among Afa/Dr strains and a low prevalence (12 to 23%) among non-Afa/Dr strains. In addition, our results indicate that strain IH11128, an Afa/Dr DAEC strain recovered from a patient with a UTI, is genetically closely related to strain C1845.

Activation of mucin exocytosis and upregulation of MUC genes in polarized human intestinal mucin-secreting cells by the thiol-activated exotoxin listeriolysin O

The secreted thiol-activated cytolysin listeriolysin O (LLO) was responsible for L. monocytogenes-induced high-molecular glycoproteins (HMGs) exocytosis in cultured human mucosecreting HT29-MTX cells. By biochemical analysis we demonstrate that the majority of secreted HMGs in LLO-stimulated cells are of mucin origin. In parallel, analysis of the expression of MUCs genes showed that the transcription of the MUC3, MUC4 and MUC12 genes encoding for membrane-bound mucins was increased in LLO-stimulated cells. Upregulation of the MUC3 gene correlates with an increased expression of the membrane-bound MUC3 mucin. In contrast, increase in secretion of the gel-forming MUC5AC mucin develops without upregulation of the MUC5AC gene. Finally, results showed that NF-kappaB and AP-1 transcription factors were not involved in LLO-induced upregulation of MUCs genes in HT29-MTX cells, whereas L. monocytogenes infection was able to promote the degradation of IkappaB proteins in the cells.

Mechanisms of Emerging Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli Infection

Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli organisms are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless commensals, a few types have emerged that are capable of disrupting the normal physiology of the human gut, producing illness ranging from watery diarrhea to fatal hemorrhagic colitis. Diarrheagenic E. coli cause infection by a variety of complex mechanisms, some of which are incompletely understood. These include adherence, elaboration of toxigenic mediators, invasion of the intestinal mucosa, and transportation of bacterial proteins into the host cells. Specific components of the host-microbial interaction that cause damage have been identified, increasing our understanding of the mechanisms of diarrhea. This article reviews some of the recent findings about the pathogenesis and infectious processes involved in three emerging pathotypes of this fascinating gram-negative bacterium.