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This Article Full Text (Papers in Press[PDF]) All Versions of this Article: jmm.0.010231-0v1 58/8/988    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted 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 Google Scholar Articles by Arbeloa, A. Articles by Frankel, G. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Arbeloa, A. Articles by Frankel, G. Agricola Articles by Arbeloa, A. Articles by Frankel, G.

Distribution of espM and espT among enteropathogenic and enterohemorrhogic Escherichia coli

¹ Imperial College;

² Universidad de Santiago de Compostela;

³ Universidade Federal de São Paulo;

⁴ Complexo Hospitalario Xeral-Calde

⁵ E-mail: g.frankel{at}imperial.ac.uk

Received February 12, 2009
Accepted April 7, 2009

Enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC) and enteropathogenic (EPEC) Escherichia coli translocate dozens type III secretion system effectors, including the WxxxE effectors Map, EspM and EspT that activate Rho GTPases. While map, which is carried on the LEE pathogenicity island is absolutely conserved among EPEC and EHEC strains, the prevalence of espM and espT is not known. Here we report the results of a large screen aimed at determining the prevalence of espM and espT among clinical EPEC and EHEC isolates. The results suggest that espM, detected in 51% of the tested strains, is more commonly found in EPEC and EHEC serogroups that are linked to severe human infections. In contrast, espT was absent from all the EHEC isolates and was found only in 3.3% of the tested EPEC strains. Further characterization of the virulence gene repertoire of the espT-positive strains lead to the identification of a new 2 intimin variant. espT was first found in C. rodentium and later in silico in EPEC E110019, which is of particular interest as it was responsible for a particularly severe diarrhoeal outbreak in Finland in 1987 which affected 650 individuals in a school complex and an additional 137 associated household members. Comparing the protein sequences of EspT to that of E110019 showed a high level of conservation, with only 3 strains encoding EspT that differ in six amino acids. At present, it is not clear why espT is so rare and what impact EspM and EspT have on EPEC and EHEC infection.

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