title: Identification of a family of intimins common to Escherichia coli causing attaching-effacing lesions in rabbits, humans, and swine.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Washington, D.C. 20307-5100, USA.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Agin
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C073819:eaeA protein, E coli