Vibrio cholerae cytolysin (VCC) is among the accessory V. cholerae virulence factors that may contribute to disease pathogenesis in humans. VCC, encoded by hlyA gene, belongs to the most common class of bacterial toxins, known as pore-forming toxins (PFTs). V. cholerae infects and kills Caenorhabditis elegans via cholerae toxin independent manner. VCC is required for the lethality, growth retar...

To clarify the characteristics of the virulence factors (VFs) of ciprofloxacin resistant Escherichia coli (CFRE) with acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC), we determined the VFs and the phylogenetic background of all 54 CFRE strains and the 55 randomly selected ciprofloxacin sensitive E. coli strains (CFSE) from patients with AUC in 22 Korean hospitals. The prevalence of the VFs was as follows: f...

Escherichia coli hlyCABD operons encode the polypeptide component (HlyA) of an extracellular cytolytic toxin as well as proteins required for its acylation (HlyC) and sec-independent secretion (HlyBD). The E. coli protein RfaH is required for wild-type hemolysin expression at the level of hlyCABD transcript elongation (J. A. Leeds and R. A. Welch, J. Bacteriol. 178:1850-1857, 1996). RfaH is als...

The ABC transporter (ATP-binding-cassette transporter) HlyB (haemolysin B) is the central element of a type I secretion machinery, dedicated to the secretion of the toxin HlyA in Escherichia coli. In addition to the ABC transporter, two other indispensable elements are necessary for the secretion of the toxin across two membranes in a single step: the transenvelope protein HlyD and the outer me...

Aeromonas species are widely distributed in aquatic environments and recent studies include the genus in the emergent pathogens group because of its frequent association with local and systemic infections in immunocompetent humans. Aiming to search for virulence genes in environmental strains of Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas jandaei, we designed specific primers to detect act/hlyA/aer comp...

The relevance of Shigatoxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is justified by the caused serious diseases in combination with a low infectious dose. This study aimed for the identification and evaluation of risk factors in fecal shedding of STEC in dairy cows. The longitudinal design of the study permitted to follow the STEC-shedding of selected cows over the period of twelve months. Overall, 2...

Shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) of different serotypes are known to harbour large plasmids. The aim of this study was to investigate, using the example of the plasmid-encoded serine protease EspP, whether these plasmids are a uniform genetic element present in STEC. Examination of 201 diarrhoeagenic E. coli strains using a newly developed espP-specific PCR showed that espP is spec...

AIM The present study was planned to reveal the prevalence of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) in fecal samples of domestic and wild ruminants in Mathura district and Kanpur zoo. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 240 fecal samples comprising 60 each of cattle, buffalo, sheep and deer from Mathura districts and Kanpur zoo were screened for the presence of E. coli and VTEC genes positiv...

Human E-cadherin and listeriolysin O (LLO) are involved in invasion of Listeria monocytogenes into human liver parenchymal cells (LPC). Yet, it remains to be determined whether murine E-cadherin and LLO participate in invasion of L. monocytogenes into murine LPC. In the present study, involvement of murine E-cadherin and LLO in invasion of L. monocytogenes into murine LPC was investigated. Muri...