title: Colonization strategy of Campylobacter jejuni results in persistent infection of the chicken gut.
abstract: Although poultry meat is now recognized as the main source of Campylobacter jejuni gastroenteritis, little is known about the strategy used by the bacterium to colonize the chicken intestinal tract. In this study, the mechanism of C. jejuni colonization in chickens was studied using four human and four poultry isolates of C. jejuni. The C. jejuni strains were able to invade chicken primary cecal epithelial crypt cells in a predominantly microtubule-dependent way (five out of eight strains). Invasion of cecal epithelial cells was not accompanied by necrosis or apoptosis in the cell cultures, nor by intestinal inflammation in a cecal loop model. C. jejuni from human origin displayed a similar invasive profile compared to the poultry isolates. Invasiveness of the strains in vitro correlated with the magnitude of spleen colonization in C. jejuni inoculated chicks. The C. jejuni bacteria that invaded the epithelial cells were not able to proliferate intracellularly, but quickly evaded from the cells. In contrast, the C. jejuni strains were capable of replication in chicken intestinal mucus. These findings suggest a novel colonization mechanism by escaping rapid mucosal clearance through short-term epithelial invasion and evasion, combined with fast replication in the mucus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Bacteriology and Avian Diseases, Ghent University, Salisburylaan 133, Merelbeke, Belgium. kim.vandeun@ugent.be
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Deun
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pasmans
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ducatelle
authors.forename: Bram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Flahou
authors.forename: Kris
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vissenberg
authors.forename: An
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martel
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Van den Broeck
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Immerseel
authors.forename: Freddy
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haesebrouck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000502:physiology*; D002353:Carrier State; D002432:Cecum / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002645:Chickens; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000382:microbiology; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000382:microbiology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology; D008870:Microtubules / Q000502:physiology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms