title: Molecular mechanisms that mediate colonization of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains.
abstract: Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is a group of pathogens which cause gastrointestinal disease in humans and have been associated with numerous food-borne outbreaks worldwide. The intimin adhesin has been considered for many years to be the only colonization factor in these strains. However, the rapid progress in whole-genome sequencing of different STEC serotypes has accelerated the discovery of other adhesins (fimbrial and afimbrial), which have emerged as important contributors to the intestinal colonization occurring during STEC infection. This review summarizes recent progress to identify and characterize, at the molecular level, novel adhesion and colonization factors in STEC strains, with an emphasis on their contribution to virulence traits, their host-pathogen interactions, the regulatory mechanisms controlling their expression, and their role as targets eliciting immune responses in the host.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudios Moleculares, Departamento de Pediatría, Hospital Dr. Luis Calvo Mackenna, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Mauricio J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Farfan
authors.forename: Alfredo G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial