Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) infections are a leading cause of infant diarrhea in developing countries. Recently eaeA, a gene necessary for the characteristic intimate attachment of EPEC to epithelial cells in tissue culture, was described. We conducted a randomized, double-blind study to determine the role of the eaeA gene in human EPEC infection. 11 adult volunteers ingested 2 X 1...

The function of the rorf2 gene located on the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) has not been described. We report that rorf2 encodes a novel protein, named EspG, which is secreted by the type III secretory system and which is translocated into host epithelial cells. EspG is homologous with Shigella flexneri protein VirA, and th...

Infectious gastroenteritis is one of the most common diseases in young children. To clarify the infectious etiology of diarrhea in Danish children less than 5 years of age, we conducted a 2-year prospective case-control study. Stools from 424 children with diarrhea and 870 asymptomatic age-matched controls were examined, and their parents were interviewed concerning symptoms. Rotavirus, adenovi...

The flagellar apparatus consists of components that function as a type III secretion system (TTSS). Enteropathogenic and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EPEC and EHEC, respectively) produce an additional TTSS, which is involved in virulence via the translocation of effector proteins into infected host cells. This system is encoded by the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). The authors observed th...

Sixty strains of Escherichia coli belonging to enteropathogenic serogroups (EPEC) were examined for the ability to adhere to HEp-2 cells, the possession of the genes encoding EPEC adherence factor (EAF) and the ability to express an outer-membrane protein (OMP) of 94 kDa thought to be involved in bacterial adhesion to eukaryotic cells. An absolute correlation was found between HEp-2 adhesion an...

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important human pathogen that causes acute infantile diarrhea. The type IV bundle-forming pili (BFP) of typical EPEC strains are dynamic fibrillar organelles that can extend out and retract into the bacterium. The bfpF gene encodes for BfpF, a protein that promotes pili retraction. The BFP are involved in bacterial autoaggregation and in mediating ...

The study was aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology and antibiotic resistance pattern of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) in bovines and their handlers in Jammu, India. A total of 173 samples comprising of 103 fecal samples from bovines (60 from cattle and 43 from buffaloes), 28 stools and 42 fingertip rinses from bovine handlers were collected during August 2011 to March 2012...

The diarrheagenic pathogen enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) limits the death of infected enterocytes early in infection. A number of bacterial molecules and host signaling pathways contribute to the enhanced survival of EPEC-infected host cells. EspZ, a type III secreted effector protein that is unique to EPEC and related "attaching and effacing" (A/E) pathogens, plays a role in limitin...

Typical and atypical Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) promote attaching-effacing lesions in intestinal cells but only typical EPEC carry the EPEC adherence factor plasmid. Atypical EPEC (aEPEC) are emerging agents of acute and persistent diarrhea worldwide. We aimed at comparing the ability of two aEPEC strains, 1711-4 (serotype O51:H40) and 3991-1 (serotype O non-typeable:non-motile) t...

Infections by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) cause diarrhea linked to high infant mortality in developing countries. EPEC adheres to epithelial cells and induces the formation of actin pedestals. Actin polymerization is driven fundamentally through signaling mediated by Tir bacterial effector protein, which inserts in the plasma membrane of the infected cell. Tir binds Nck adaptor pro...