title: Escherichia coli isolates that carry vat, fyuA, chuA, and yfcV efficiently colonize the urinary tract.
abstract: Extraintestinal Escherichia coli (ExPEC), a heterogeneous group of pathogens, encompasses avian, neonatal meningitis, and uropathogenic E. coli strains. While several virulence factors are associated with ExPEC, there is no core set of virulence factors that can be used to definitively differentiate these pathotypes. Here we describe a multiplex of four virulence factor-encoding genes, yfcV, vat, fyuA, and chuA, highly associated with uropathogenic E. coli strains that can distinguish three groups of E. coli: diarrheagenic and animal-associated E. coli strains, human commensal and avian pathogenic E. coli strains, and uropathogenic and neonatal meningitis E. coli strains. Furthermore, human intestinal isolates that encode all four predictor genes express them during exponential growth in human urine and colonize the bladder in the mouse model of ascending urinary tract infection in higher numbers than human commensal strains that do not encode the four predictor genes (P = 0.02), suggesting that the presence of the predictors correlates with uropathogenic potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Spurbeck
authors.forename: Paul C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Dinh
authors.forename: Seth T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Walk
authors.forename: Ann E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Stapleton
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hooton
authors.forename: Lisa K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.forename: Kwang Sik
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Harry L T
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Mobley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D051379:Mice; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D060885:Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D014551:Urinary Tract / Q000382:microbiology*; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors