title: Physiological characterization of Campylobacter jejuni under cold stresses conditions: its potential for public threat.
abstract: Campylobacter jejuni is the major cause of human gastroenteritis worldwide. Under stress conditions, C. jejuni can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state. We found that the C. jejuni was able to enter a VBNC state by prolonged incubation at 4°C. The standard isolation methods using pre-enrichment steps in Bolton broth or Preston broth could not detect the VBNC cells in spiked chicken meat. The transcription levels of virulence-associated genes (flaA, flaB, cadF, ciaB, cdtA, cdtB and cdtC) were expressed in VBNC cells but in low levels. The VBNC cells retained the ability to invade Caco-2 human intestinal epithelial cells in vitro. In most cases, VBNC cells failed to resuscitate in Caco-2 cells, but in some experiments, they formed colonies after co-incubation with host cells. Collectively, C. jejuni enters into a VBNC state at 4°C and the VBNC C. jejuni remains virulent which may possibly lead to disease in humans. C. jejuni in VBNC state is a potential concern for food safety.
authors: Section of Food Microbiology and Immunology, Research Center for Animal Hygiene and Food Safety, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors: Warangkhana
authors: W
authors: Chaisowwong
authors: Akiko
authors: A
authors: Kusumoto
authors: Miho
authors: M
authors: Hashimoto
authors: Toshihiko
authors: T
authors: Harada
authors: Khuanwalai
authors: K
authors: Maklon
authors: Keiko
authors: K
authors: Kawamoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D002645:Chickens; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005516:Food Microbiology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors