Pathogen-induced reorganization of the host cell cytoskeleton is a common strategy utilized in host cell invasion by many facultative intracellular bacteria, such as Shigella, Listeria, enteroinvasive E. coli and Salmonella. Shigella is an enteroinvasive intracellular pathogen that preferentially infects human epithelial cells and causes bacillary dysentery. Invasion of Shigella into intestinal...

Among the intestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) are a group of intracellular pathogens able to enter epithelial cells of colon, multiplicate within them, and move between adjacent cells with a mechanism similar to Shigella, the ethiological agent of bacillary dysentery. Despite EIEC belong to the same pathotype of Shigella, they neither have the full set of trait...

BACKGROUND Shigella, a major diarrheal disease pathogen worldwide, is the target of vaccine development. The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS) investigated burden and etiology of moderate-to-severe diarrheal disease in children aged <60 months and matched controls without diarrhea during 3 years at 4 sites in Africa and 3 in Asia. Shigella was 1 of the 4 most common pathogens across sites...

Infection by Shigella spp. is a common cause of dysentery in Southeast Asia. Antimicrobials are thought to be beneficial for treatment; however, antimicrobial resistance in Shigella spp. is becoming widespread. We aimed to assess the frequency and mechanisms associated with decreased susceptibility to azithromycin in Southeast Asian Shigella isolates and use these data to assess appropriate sus...

Shigella spp. are food- and waterborne pathogens that cause severe diarrheal and dysenteric disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. Individuals most often affected are children under 5 years of age in the developing world. The existence of multiple Shigella serotypes and the heterogenic distribution of pathogenic strains, as well as emerging antibiotic resistance, require the deve...

A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, amplifying the genes encoding lactose permease (lacY) and invasion plasmid antigen H (ipaH), was run on 121 isolates phenotypically classified as Shigella spp., enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC), or EIEC O nontypable (ONT). The results were compared with data from a generic E. coli multiple-locus variable-number of tandem repeat analysis (...

BACKGROUND Shigella enterotoxin 1 is a novel enterotoxin elaborated by Shigella flexneri 2a that causes fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loops and a rise in short circuit current in Ussing chambers. AIMS To gain insights into the mechanism of action of shigella enterotoxin 1. METHODS Supernatants from genetically engineered clones either overexpressing shigella enterotoxin 1 or producing ...

To determine the clinical and microbiologic features of Shigella and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) infections, we investigated 410 children with diarrhea and 410 control children without diarrhea who were seen at Children's Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, from January to June 1985. Shigella spp. were isolated from 96 (23%) and EIEC were isolated from 17 (4%) of 410 children with diarrhea ...

Shigella is the major cause of bacillary dysentery world-wide. It is divided into four species, named S. flexneri, S. sonnei, S. dysenteriae, and S. boydii, which are distinct genomically and in their ability to cause disease. Shigellosis, the clinical presentation of Shigella infection, is characterized by watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever. Shigella's ability to cause disease has be...

MicroRNAs play an important role in the interplay between bacterial pathogens and host cells, participating as host defense mechanisms, as well as exploited by bacteria to subvert host cellular functions. Here, we show that microRNAs modulate infection by Shigella flexneri, a major causative agent of bacillary dysentery in humans. Specifically, we characterize the dual regulatory role of miR-29...