Aim: Neonatal bacterial infections appear to program immune system in a sexually dimorphic way and are associated with perturbed neuronal development. Bacterial cell wall components or endotoxins cause similar effects, therefore, used as experimental models. Aim of the current study was assess effects neonatal exposure different on timing puberty investigate reaction Echerichia (E.) coli endoto...

The release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), either during "suicidal" or "vital" NETosis, represents an important strategy of neutrophils to combat Gram-negative bacteria. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, is a reported stimulus for NET formation. Although it is widely acknowledged that the structural diversity in LPS structure...

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of Shigatoxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and STEC serogroups O157, O111 and O113 in feces, water and milk sampled in dairy farms in Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. Feces (n=454), water (n=54) and milk samples (n=30) were collected from 10 herds and assessed for the presence of the virulence genes stx1, stx2 and eae by polymerase chain reacti...

Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains are emerging food-borne pathogens causing life-threatening diseases and food-borne outbreaks. A better understanding of their evolution provides a framework for developing tools to control food safety. We obtained 15 genomes of non-O157 STEC strains, including O26, O111, and O103 strains. Phylogenetic trees revealed a close relation...

The biofilm life style helps bacteria resist oxidative stress, desiccation, antibiotic treatment, and starvation. Biofilm formation involves a complex regulatory gene network controlled by various environmental signals. It was previously shown that prophage insertions in mlrA and heterogeneous mutations in rpoS constituted major obstacles limiting biofilm formation and the expression of extrace...

Within the species Escherichia coli, there are commensal strains and a variety of pathogenic strains, including enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), and urinary tract infection (UTI) strains. The pathogenic strains are identified by serotype and by possession of specific virulence determinants (toxins a...

Lactoferricin includes an 11-amino-acid amphipathic alpha-helical region which is exhibited on the outer surface of the amino-terminal lobe of lactoferrin. Synthetic peptides homologous to this region exhibited potent antibacterial activity against a selected range of both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria. An analog synthesized with methionine substituted for proline at position 26, whi...

Stool samples were examined from 30 preterm neonates admitted to a nursery ward; 16 neonates had diarrhea, 12 constituted an age-matched control group without diarrhea, and 2 had an unknown history regarding diarrhea. Variable numbers of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli serotype O111:HNT strains possessing the gene coding for the enteroadherence factor (EAF) were found in stool samples from 13...

Cattle are an important reservoir of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O26, O111, and O157. The fate of these pathogens in bovine feces at 5, 15, and 25 degrees C was examined. The feces of a cow naturally infected with STEC O26:H11 and two STEC-free cows were studied. STEC O26, O111, and O157 were inoculated into bovine feces at 10(1), 10(3), and 10(5) CFU/g. All three pathogens su...

Escherichia coli are normal inhabitants of the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans. Some strains have become highly adapted to cause diarrhoea and a range of extra-intestinal diseases. Since 1977, it has been recognised that some diarrhoegenic strains of E. coli produce toxins that have an irreversible cytopathic effect on cultured Vero cells. Such verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) belo...