The Pic protease of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli promotes intestinal colonization and growth in the presence of mucin.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is increasingly being recognized as a cause of diarrheal disease in diverse populations. No small animal model is currently available to study this pathogen. We report here that conventional mice orally inoculated with prototype EAEC strain 042 generally became colonized, though the abundance of organisms cultured from their stool varied substantially among individual animals.

EilA, a HilA-like regulator in enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is increasingly recognized as a diarrhoeal pathogen in developing and industrialized countries. Most EAEC virulence factors thus far described are encoded on virulence plasmid pAA, yet recent completion of the EAEC genome has suggested the presence of additional factors encoded on chromosomal islands. Previous reports have recognized the presence of a type III secretion system (T3SS), designated ETT2, at the glyU locus of prototype EAEC strain 042, along with possible T3SS effectors at the selC locus.

Quantitative biofilm assay using a microtiter plate to screen for enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.

The gold standard for identification of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) remains the HEp-2 cell adherence test, which is time-consuming and requires specialized facilities. We evaluated the usefulness of a quantitative biofilm assay to screen for EAEC from a total of 1,042 E. coli strains from children with diarrhea.

Use of a continuous-flow anaerobic culture to characterize enteric virulence gene expression.

We developed an in vitro culture method to characterize the expression of bacterial genes under conditions mimicking the colonic environment. Our culture system (the intestinal simulator) comprised a continuous-flow anaerobic culture which was inoculated with fecal samples from healthy volunteers. As a test organism, we employed enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC), an emerging diarrheal pathogen that is thought to cause infection in both the small and large intestines.

Typical enteroaggregative Escherichia coli is the most prevalent pathotype among E. coli strains causing diarrhea in Mongolian children.

Diarrhea remains one of the main sources of morbidity and mortality in the world, and a large proportion is caused by diarrheagenic Escherichia coli. In Mongolia, the epidemiology of diarrheagenic E. coli has not been well studied.

The export of coat protein from enteroaggregative Escherichia coli by a specific ATP-binding cassette transporter system.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an emerging enteric pathogen characterized by aggregative adherence (AA) to cultured human mucosal epithelium cells. We have recently characterized a 10.2-kDa protein, called dispersin, which is exported from the bacteria and which promotes dispersal of EAEC across the intestinal mucosa.

A novel dispersin protein in enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is a diarrheal pathogen defined by its characteristic aggregative adherence (AA) to HEp-2 cells in culture. We have previously shown that EAEC strains secrete a 10-kDa protein that is immunogenic in a human EAEC challenge model. We report here that this protein is encoded by a gene (called aap) lying immediately upstream of that encoding the AggR transcriptional activator, and that aap is under AggR control.

Regulation of the overlapping pic/set locus in Shigella flexneri and enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.

Most strains of Shigella flexneri 2a and enteroaggregative Escherichia coli carry a highly conserved chromosomal locus which encodes a 109-kDa secreted mucinase (called Pic) and, on the opposite strand in overlapping fashion, an oligomeric enterotoxin called ShET1, encoded by the setA and setB genes. Here, we characterize the genetic regulation of these overlapping genes. Our data suggest that pic and the setBA loci are transcribed as complementary 4-kb mRNA species.

Isolation and characterization of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAggEC) by genotypic and phenotypic markers, isolated from diarrheal children in Congo.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAggEC) in African diarrheal children in Lwiro, Congo, to characterize EAggEC isolates by possible genotypic and phenotypic markers, and to evaluate the EAggEC probe pCVD432 in identifying EAggEC. METHODS: The Hep-2 cell adhesion assay and colony-blot hybridization assays were carried out for the identification of EAggEC. O:H serotyping, biotyping, antibiogram and plasmid-profile analysis were done.