Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is a primary food-borne bacterial pathogen capable of causing life-threatening human infections which poses a serious challenge to public health worldwide. Intimin, the bacterial outer-membrane protein, plays a key role in the initiating process of EHEC infection. This activity is dependent upon translocation of the intimin receptor (Tir), the intimin b...

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are important tools in bacterial virulence but their role in the pathogenesis of infections caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157, the leading cause of life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome, is poorly understood. Using proteomics, electron and confocal laser scanning microscopy, immunoblotting, and bioassays, we investigated OMVs secreted b...

Ruminants are a major reservoir of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), which cause acute gastroenteritis in humans with potentially life-threatening sequelae. The mechanisms underlying EHEC persistence in ruminant hosts are poorly understood. EHEC produce several cytotoxins that inhibit the proliferation of bovine lymphocytes in vitro and influence EHEC persistence in calves, suggesting...

Enteric neurotransmitters can modulate the biodefensive functions of the intestinal mucosa, but their role in mucosal interactions with enteropathogens is not well defined. Here we tested the hypothesis that norepinephrine (NE) modulates interactions between enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC) and the colonic epithelium. Mucosal sheets from porcine distal colon were mounted in Uss...

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli are a growing concern in the area of food safety, and the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service has identified the serotypes O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145, and O157 as adulterants in certain types of raw beef. The most relevant to human disease are the enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) strains that possess intimin (ea...

OBJECTIVES Shiga-toxin producing O157:H7 Entero Haemorrhagic E. coli (STEC/EHEC) is one of the most common causes of Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome (HUS) related to infectious haemorrhagic colitis. Nearly all recommendations on clinical management of EHEC infections refer to this strain. The 2011 outbreak in Northern Europe was the first to be caused by the serotype O104:H4. This EHEC strain was f...

Since enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) isolates of serogroup O156 have been obtained from human diarrhea patients and asymptomatic carriers, we studied cattle as a potential reservoir for these bacteria. E. coli isolates serotyped by agglutination as O156:H25/H-/Hnt strains (n = 32) were isolated from three cattle farms during a period of 21 months and characterized by rapid microarray...

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a subset of pathogenic E. coli that can cause diarrhea or hemorrhagic colitis in humans. Hemorrhagic colitis occasionally progresses to hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), an important cause of acute renal failure in children and morbidity and mortality in adults. In the elderly, the case fatality rate for HUS can be as high as 50%. E. coli O157:H7 (EHE...

A total of 66 (98.5%) of 67 enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 strains had increased potassium tellurite (Te) MICs (32 to 1,024 microg/ml), grew on Te-containing media, and possessed Te resistance (ter) genes, whereas 83 (96.5%) of 86 sorbitol-fermenting (SF) EHEC O157:NM strains had Te MICs of </=4 microg/ml, did not grow on Te-containing media, and lacked ter genes. Optimal det...