Identification and characterization of an Escherichia coli invasion gene locus, ibeB, required for penetration of brain microvascular endothelial cells.

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli K1 is the most common gram-negative organism causing neonatal meningitis, but the mechanism by which E. coli K1 crosses the blood-brain barrier is incompletely understood. We have previously described the cloning and molecular characterization of a determinant, ibeA (also called ibe10), from the chromosome of an invasive cerebrospinal fluid isolate of E. coli K1 strain RS218 (O18:K1:H7). Here we report the identification of another chromosomal locus, ibeB, which allows RS218 to invade brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMEC). The noninvasive TnphoA mutant 7A-33 exhibited <1% the invasive ability of the parent strain in vitro in BMEC and was significantly less invasive in the central nervous system in the newborn rat model of hematogenous E. coli meningitis than the par

SUBMITTER: Huang SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC115944 | biostudies-literature | 1999 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature