Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) are related intestinal pathogens that harbor highly similar pathogenicity islands known as the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). Despite their genetic similarity, these two pathogens disrupt epithelial tight junction barrier function with distinct kinetics. EHEC-induced reduction in transepithelial electrical resi...

The haemolysin from enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC-Hly) and the serine protease EspPα are putative virulence factors of EHEC. We investigated the interplay between these secreted factors and demonstrate that EspPα cleaves the 107 kDa large EHEC-Hly. Degradation was observed when purified EspPα was added to a growing culture of an EHEC-Hly-expressing strain, with isolated proteins and...

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) possess a filamentous type III secretion system (TTSS) employed to deliver effector proteins into host cells. EspA is a type III secreted protein which forms the filamentous extension to the TTSS and which interacts with host cells during early stages of attaching and effacing (A/E) lesion formation. By immunofluoresc...

Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC O157) is a serious pathogen causing haemorrhagic colitis. In this study, inactivation kinetics of inoculated EHEC O157 and response of EHEC O157 in apple wounds by different concentrations of C. oleophila was investigated. The results presented in this study indicated that EHEC O157 could survive and grow in wounded 'Fuji' apples and extensively proliferate. Water...

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains comprise a subgroup of Shiga-toxin (Stx)-producing E. coli (STEC) and are characterized by a few serotypes. Among these, seven priority STEC serotypes (O26:H11, O45:H2, O103:H2, O111:H8, O121:H19, O145:H28, and O157:H7) are most frequently implicated in severe clinical illness worldwide. Currently, standard methods using stx, eae, and O-serogrou...

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) cause haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a thrombotic microangiopathy resulting from endothelial injury in the renal glomeruli and other organs. EHEC virulence factors that damage the microvascular endothelium play therefore major roles in the pathogenesis of HUS. We identified an EHEC strain that vacuolates and kills primary human glomerular microvasc...

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) infections in humans are an important public health concern and are commonly acquired via contact with ruminant faeces. Cattle are a key control point however cross-protective vaccines for the control of EHEC in the bovine reservoir do not yet exist. The EHEC serogroups that are predominantly associated with human infection in Europe and North America ...

Adherence to intestinal cells is a key process in infection caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). Several adhesion factors that mediate the binding of EHEC to intestinal cells have been described, but the receptors involved in their recognition are not fully characterized. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins might act as receptors involved in the recognition of enteric pathogens,...

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is an important foodborne pathogen that infects humans by colonizing the large intestine. Here we identify a virulence-regulating pathway in which the biotin protein ligase BirA signals to the global regulator Fur, which in turn activates LEE (locus of enterocyte effacement) genes to promote EHEC adherence in the low-biotin large intestine. LEE genes ar...

To the Editor: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) can cause severe hemorrhagic colitis characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms and bloody diarrhea as well as hemolytic uremic syndrome (1). Cattle and small ruminants are the major natural reservoir of these foodborne pathogens (1,2). Human infections may also develop after direct contact with cows, goats, sheep, and deer (1). Although ...