Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains are defined as extracellular pathogens which nucleate actin rich pedestal-like membrane extensions on intestinal enterocytes to which they intimately adhere. EPEC infection is mediated by type III secretion system effectors, which modulate host cell signaling. Recently we have shown that the WxxxE effector EspT activates Rac1 and Cdc42 leading to...

Molecular techniques were used for studying the epidemiology of diarrhoeal infections due to Escherichia coli in the Gauteng region in South Africa. In total, 151 E. coli strains isolated from stools of patients with diarrhoea and 30 strains isolated from stools of healthy individuals were collected between March 1996 and May 1997. The E. coli isolates were characterized by serotyping, antimicr...

The diarrheagenic pathogen enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) dynamically modulates the survival of infected host intestinal epithelial cells. In the initial stages of infection, several prosurvival signaling events are activated in host cells. These include the phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the consequent activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/Ak...

Zinc supplements are an effective clinical treatment for infantile diarrheal disease caused by enteric pathogens. Previous studies demonstrated that zinc acts on enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) bacteria directly to suppress several virulence-related genes at a concentration that can be achieved by oral delivery of dietary zinc supplements. Our in vitro studies showed that a micromolar ...

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an important human intestinal pathogen, especially in infants. EPEC adherence to intestinal epithelial cells induces the accumulation of a number of cytoskeletal proteins beneath the bacteria, including the membrane-cytoskeleton linker ezrin. Evidence suggests that ezrin can participate in signal transduction. The aim of this study was to determine wh...

Typical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) and enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) employ either Nck, TccP/TccP2, or Nck and TccP/TccP2 pathways to activate the neuronal Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP) and to trigger actin polymerization in cultured cells. This phenotype is used as a marker for the pathogenic potential of EPEC and EHEC strains. In this paper we report that EPEC O12...

Escherichia coli is a pathogen of major importance in swine and public health. To determine the prevalence of Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), samples were collected from the feces and carcasses of swines. In total, 441 samples were collected in four samplings, of which 141 samples tested positive for either the stx1, stx2, and/or eae genes. From the positive ...

Foodborne Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) infections of the small intestine cause diarrhea especially in children and are a major cause of childhood death in developing countries. EPEC infects the apical membrane of the epithelium of the small intestine by attaching, effacing the microvilli under the bacteria and then forming microcolonies on the cell surface. We first asked the questi...

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) infection triggers the release of ATP from host intestinal cells, and the ATP is broken down to ADP, AMP, and adenosine in the lumen of the intestine. Ecto-5'-nucleotidase (CD73) is the main enzyme responsible for the conversion of 5'-AMP to adenosine, which triggers fluid secretion from host intestinal cells and also has growth-promoting effects on EPEC...