Attenuating ETEC virulence using a heat-labile enterotoxin-blocking binding protein.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial enteric pathogens are major contributors to the global burden of diarrheal diseases and the associated consequences for human health including malnutrition, growth stunting, morbidity, and mortality. While mortality from diarrhea has decreased, incidence remains high, and better interventions for preventing disease are needed. Single-domain antibodies (i.e., V_HHs), functioning as target-binding proteins in the gastrointestinal tract, have been proposed as a potential approach to mitigate bacterial pathogenesis. Here, we describe a mitigation strategy where precision binding of a bivalent V_HH to the receptor-binding B-pentamer of heat-labile enterotoxin aggregates the AB₅ toxin and impairs enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli colonization in a f

SUBMITTER: Petersson M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12754688 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature