title: The effect of enterohemorrhagic E. coli infection on the cell mechanics of host cells.
abstract: Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) is a type of human pathogenic bacteria. The main virulence characteristics of EHEC include the formation of attaching and effacing lesions (A/E lesions) and the production of one or more Shiga-like toxins, which may induce human uremic complications. When EHEC infects host cells, it releases translocated intimin receptor (Tir) and effector proteins inside the host cells, inducing the rearrangement and accumulation of the F-actin cytoskeleton, a phenotype leading to the formation of pedestals in the apical cell surface, and the growth of stress fibers at the base of the cells. To examine the effect of EHEC infection on cell mechanics, we carried out a series of experiments to examine HeLa cells with and without EHEC infection to quantify the changes in (1) focal adhesion area, visualized by anti-vinculin staining; (2) the distribution and orientation of stress fibers; and (3) the intracellular viscoelasticity, via directional video particle tracking microrheology. Our results indicated that in EHEC-infected HeLa cells, the focal adhesion area increased and the actin stress fibers became thicker and more aligned. The cytoskeletal reorganization induced by EHEC infection mediated a dramatic increase in the cytoplasmic elastic shear modulus of the infected cells, and a transition in the viscoelastic behavior of the cells from viscous-like to elastic-like. These changes in mechanobiological characteristics might modulate the attachments between EHEC and the host cell to withstand exfoliation, and between the host cell and the extracellular matrix, and might also alter epithelial integrity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yin-Quan
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology & Immunology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; Biophotonics & Molecular Imaging Research Center (BMIRC), National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Pin-Tzu
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology & Immunology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu-Hsuan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, United States of America.
authors.forename: Ming-Tzo
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chien-Hsiu
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, San Diego, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Osterday
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, San Diego, California, United States of America; Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Juan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: del Álamo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology & Immunology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; Biophotonics & Molecular Imaging Research Center (BMIRC), National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wan-Jr
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Syu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; Biophotonics & Molecular Imaging Research Center (BMIRC), National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiou
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D004548:Elasticity; D054324:Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli / Q000502:physiology*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D005454:Fluorescence Polarization; D022001:Focal Adhesions / Q000378:metabolism; D006367:HeLa Cells; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D010590:Phalloidine / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010590:Phalloidine