title: Recent advances in adherence and invasion of pathogenic Escherichia coli.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Colonization of the host epithelia by pathogenic Escherichia coli is influenced by the ability of the bacteria to interact with host surfaces. Because the initial step of an E. coli infection is to adhere, invade, and persist within host cells, some strategies used by intestinal and extraintestinal E. coli to infect host cell are presented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This review highlights recent progress understanding how extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli strains express specific adhesins or invasins that allow colonization of the urinary tract or the meninges, while intestinal E. coli strains are able to colonize different regions of the intestinal tract using other specialized adhesins or invasins. Finally, evaluation of different diets and environmental conditions regulating the colonization of these pathogens is discussed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Discovery of new interactions between pathogenic E. coli and the host epithelial cells unravels the need for more mechanistic studies that can provide new clues regarding how to combat these infections.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology bDepartment of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA *Anjana Kalita and Jia Hu contributed equally to the writing of this article.
authors.forename: Anjana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalita
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Alfredo G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli; D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000276:immunology*; D018988:Bacterial Translocation / Q000276:immunology*; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000382:microbiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000382:microbiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D020814:Meningitis, Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D018830:Adhesins, Escherichia coli; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins