HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Duprè, I. Articles by Sechi, L. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Duprè, I. Articles by Sechi, L. A. Agricola Articles by Duprè, I. Articles by Sechi, L. A.

Incidence of virulence determinants in clinical Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis isolates collected in Sardinia (Italy)

¹Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Sezione di Microbiologia Sperimentale e Clinica, Viale S. Pietro 43/B, Università degli studi di Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy ²Istituto di Microbiologia C. A. Romanzi, Università di Genova, Genoa, Italy ³Istituto di Microbiologia, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy#dReceived 29 July 2002 Accepted 4 March 2003

Correspondence: L. A. Sechi (sechila{at}ssmain.uniss.it)

Enterococci are widely distributed in the environment; within the human body, they are normal commensals of the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract and vagina. In recent years, enterococci have become one of the most frequent causes of acquired nosocomial infections worldwide. The molecular mechanism of virulence of these bacteria is still not completely understood. The aims of this work were to characterize phenotypically 47 isolates of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium collected in Sardinia (Italy) by their abilities to adhere to different epithelial cell lines (Vero and Caco-2 cells) and to associate their phenotypes with the presence of known virulence genes detected within their genomes by PCR. The following genes were amplified: AS (aggregation substance), esp (surface protein gene), ace (accessory colonization factor), efaA (E. faecalis endocarditis antigen) and gelE (gelatinase). The virulence genes were detected in E. faecalis isolates only, with the exception of esp, which was found in both species. The phenotypic and genotypic results were also compared with the susceptibility of isolates to various antibiotics.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. A. Mohamed and D. B. Huang Biofilm formation by enterococci J. Med. Microbiol., December 1, 2007; 56(12): 1581 - 1588. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Lepage, S. Brinster, C. Caron, C. Ducroix-Crepy, L. Rigottier-Gois, G. Dunny, C. Hennequet-Antier, and P. Serror Comparative Genomic Hybridization Analysis of Enterococcus faecalis: Identification of Genes Absent from Food Strains. J. Bacteriol., October 1, 2006; 188(19): 6858 - 6868. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Vankerckhoven, T. Van Autgaerden, C. Vael, C. Lammens, S. Chapelle, R. Rossi, D. Jabes, and H. Goossens Development of a Multiplex PCR for the Detection of asa1, gelE, cylA, esp, and hyl Genes in Enterococci and Survey for Virulence Determinants among European Hospital Isolates of Enterococcus faecium J. Clin. Microbiol., October 1, 2004; 42(10): 4473 - 4479. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Creti, M. Imperi, L. Bertuccini, F. Fabretti, G. Orefici, R. Di Rosa, and L. Baldassarri Survey for virulence determinants among Enterococcus faecalis isolated from different sources J. Med. Microbiol., January 1, 2004; 53(1): 13 - 20. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Lund and C. Edlund Bloodstream Isolates of Enterococcus faecium Enriched with the Enterococcal Surface Protein Gene, esp, Show Increased Adhesion to Eukaryotic Cells J. Clin. Microbiol., November 1, 2003; 41(11): 5183 - 5185. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]