title: Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli pathogenesis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an emerging diarrheal pathogen, implicated in traveler's diarrhea and endemic diarrhea in developing and industrialized countries. Understanding of EAEC pathogenesis is rapidly increasing, and advances are proving relevant to epidemiologic and clinical investigations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pathogenesis of EAEC infection comprises colonization of the intestinal mucosa with elaboration of enterotoxins and cytotoxins. In addition, EAEC infections elicit mucosal inflammation, which can be observed in infected subjects. A large set of EAEC virulence factors is under the control of a global regulator of EAEC virulence, called AggR. AggR controls expression of adherence factors, a dispersin protein, and a large cluster of genes encoded on the EAEC chromosome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identification of AggR or members of the AggR regulon may identify pathogenic EAEC strains, called typical EAEC. Epidemiologic and clinical investigations in many settings should now include detection of typical EAEC.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. jnataro@medicine.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Nataro
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins