Oxygen and contact with human intestinal epithelium independently stimulate virulence gene expression in enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT: Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) are important intestinal pathogens causing acute and persistent diarrhoeal illness worldwide. Although many putative EAEC virulence factors have been identified, their association with pathogenesis remains unclear. As environmental cues can modulate bacterial virulence, we investigated the effect of oxygen and human intestinal epithelium on EAEC virulence gene expression to determine the involvement of respective gene products in intestinal colonisation and pathogenesis. Using in vitro organ culture of human intestinal biopsies, we established the colonic epithelium as the major colonisation site of EAEC strains 042 and 17-2. We subsequently optimised a vertical diffusion chamber system with polarised T84 colon carcinoma cells for EAEC infection an

SUBMITTER: Ellis SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6563437 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature