Identification of a family of intimins common to Escherichia coli causing attaching-effacing lesions in rabbits, humans, and swine.
Intimin, an outer membrane protein encoded by eaeA that mediates close attachment of enteropathogenic bacteria to apical surfaces of epithelial cells, is required for formation of the attaching-effacing lesions and for full pathogenesis of the bacteria. Analysis of the eaeA sequence indicates that there is a high degree of homology at the N termini but less at the C termini of intimins. Antisera specific for the C-terminal third of RDEC-1 intimin, used to screen outer membrane proteins from 50 rabbit enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), human EPEC, and human enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) strains, identified cross-reactive intimins from 24 isolates. Sequence analysis of the eaeA genes from human EPEC O111 and EHEC O26 isolates indicates that their intimins have C termini nearly identical to that of RDEC-1 intimin. Our results suggest that there are at least three families of related intimins and that the presence of intimin similar to that of RDEC-1 is not restricted by serogroup or host specificity.
Agin
T S
TS
Department of Gastroenterology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. 20307-5100, USA.
Wolf
M K
MK
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics*; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D003429:Cross Reactions; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D011817:Rabbits; D012703:Serotyping; D013045:Species Specificity; D013552:Swine
D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C073819:eaeA protein, E coli