Acid and bile-salt stress of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli enhances adhesion to epithelial cells and alters glycolipid receptor binding specificity.

Background: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), a diarrheagenic pathogen, is exposed to stress during ingestion, and yet little is known about the impact of stress on EPEC-host cell adhesion.

Methods: EPEC adhesion to human epithelial cells was assessed by plate-count assay before and after bacterial stress. Stress treatments included exposure to low pH (with or without acid adaptation) and exposure to physiological concentrations of 4 intestinal bile salts.