Bacteria coordinate gene expression in a cell density-dependent manner using a communication process called quorum sensing (QS). The expression of virulence factors, biofilm formation and enzyme production are examples of QS-regulated phenotypes that can interfere with food quality and safety. Due to the importance of these phenotypes, the inhibition of bacterial communication as an anti-virulence strategy is of great interest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe expression of many virulence genes in bacteria is regulated by quorum sensing (QS), and the inhibition of this mechanism has been intensely investigated. -acetylcysteine (NAC) has good antibacterial activity and is able to interfere with biofilm-related respiratory infections, but little is known whether this compound has an effect on bacterial QS communication. This work aimed to evaluate the potential of NAC as a QS inhibitor (QSI) in PAO1 through and analyses, as well as in combination with the antibiotic tobramycin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGram-negative bacteria produce outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) with 10 to 300 nm of diameter. The contribution of OMVs to bacterial pathogenesis is a topic of great interest, and their capacity to be combined with antigens impact in the future to the development of vaccines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe application of next-generation molecular, biochemical and immunological methods for developing new vaccines, antimicrobial compounds, probiotics and prebiotics for zoonotic infection control has been fundamental to the understanding and preservation of the symbiotic relationship between animals and humans. With increasing rates of antibiotic use, resistant bacterial infections have become more difficult to diagnose, treat, and eradicate, thereby elevating the importance of surveillance and prevention programs. Effective surveillance relies on the availability of rapid, cost-effective methods to monitor pathogenic bacterial isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCapsicum peppers have not been investigated as sources of quorum sensing (QS) inhibitors. This study aimed to identify compounds in pimenta-malagueta (Capsicum frutescens) and red pepper (Capsicum annuum) extracts and to evaluate their effect on violacein production in Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472 and C. violaceum CV026, as well as biofilm formation (BF) in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and Serratia marcescens MG1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtypical enteropathogenic are capable to form biofilm on biotic and abiotic surfaces, regardless of the adherence pattern displayed. Several mechanisms are regulated by Quorum sensing (QS), including virulence factors and biofilm formation. Quorum sensing is a signaling system that confers bacteria with the ability to respond to chemical molecules known as autoinducers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSalmonella enterica Enteritidis forms biofilms and survives in agricultural environments, infecting poultry and eggs. Bacteria in biofilms are difficult to eradicate compared to planktonic cells, causing serious problems in industry and public health. In this study, we evaluated the role of ihfA and ihfB in biofilm formation by S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) is a 35.6 kb pathogenicity island inserted in the genome of some bacteria such as enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E.coli, Citrobacter rodentium, and Escherichia albertii.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to determine the capacity of biofilm formation of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) strains on abiotic and biotic surfaces. Ninety-one aEPEC strains, isolated from feces of children with diarrhea, were analyzed by the crystal violet (CV) assay on an abiotic surface after 24 h of incubation. aEPEC strains representing each HEp-2 cell type of adherence were analyzed after 24 h and 6, 12, and 18 days of incubation at 37°C on abiotic and cell surfaces by CFU/cm(2) counting and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutotransporter (AT) protein-encoding genes of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) pathotypes (cah, eatA, ehaABCDJ, espC, espI, espP, pet, pic, sat, and tibA) were detected in typical and atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) in frequencies between 0.8% and 39.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA chemical study of acyl-homoserine lactones (acyl-HSLs) produced by Enterobacter sakazakii resulted in the identification of three molecules: (S)-N-heptanoyl-HSL, (S)-N-dodecanoyl-HSL and (S)-N-tetradecanoyl-HSL. Mixed cultures of E. sakazakii and Bacillus cereus depleted E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe intracellular multiplication factor (IcmF) protein is a component of the recently described type VI secretion system (T6SS). IcmF has been shown to be required for intra-macrophage replication and inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion in Legionella pneumophila. In Vibrio cholerae it is involved in motility, adherence and conjugation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTypical and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) are considered important bacterial causes of diarrhoea. Considering the repertoire of virulence genes, atypical EPEC (aEPEC) is a heterogeneous group, harbouring genes that are found in other diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes, such as those encoding haemolysins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFForty-nine typical and atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains belonging to different serotypes and isolated from humans, pets (cats and dogs), farm animals (bovines, sheep, and rabbits), and wild animals (monkeys) were investigated for virulence markers and clonal similarity by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). The virulence markers analyzed revealed that atypical EPEC strains isolated from animals have the potential to cause diarrhea in humans. A close clonal relationship between human and animal isolates was found by MLST and PFGE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiagn Microbiol Infect Dis
September 2009
The presence of the enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) virulence genes aatA, aap, and aggR was assayed in strains of different diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes and nonpathogenic E. coli.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe identified different diarrheagenic (DEC) Escherichia coli pathotypes isolated from 1,207 children with and without acute endemic diarrhea in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil collected as part of a case-control study. Since the identification of DEC cannot be based on only biochemical and culture criteria, we used a multiplex polymerase chain reaction developed by combining five specific primer pairs for Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), Shiga toxin-producing E. coli/ Enterohaemorrhagic E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe quorum-sensing (QS) signal autoinducer-2 (AI-2) has been proposed to promote interspecies signaling in a broad range of bacterial species. AI-2 is spontaneously derived from 4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione that, along with homocysteine, is produced by cleavage of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and S-ribosylhomocysteine by the Pfs and LuxS enzymes. Numerous phenotypes have been attributed to AI-2 QS signaling using luxS mutants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrocolony formation is one of the initial steps in biofilm development, and in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) it is mediated by several adhesins, including the bundle-forming pilus (BFP) and the EspA filament. Here we report that EPEC forms biofilms on plastic under static conditions and a flowthrough continuous culture system. The abilities of several EPEC isogenic mutants to form biofilms were assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) are diarrheagenic pathogens that colonize the gut through the formation of attaching and effacing lesions, which depend on the translocation of effector proteins via a locus of enterocyte effacement-encoded type III secretion system. Recently, two effector proteins, EspJ and TccP, which are encoded by adjacent genes on prophage CP-933U in EHEC O157:H7, have been identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) produces a lesion on epithelial cells called the attaching and effacing (AE) lesion. All genes necessary for AE are encoded within the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). EPEC also adheres in a characteristic pattern to epithelial cells by forming microcolonies, usually referred to as localized adherence (LA).
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