title: Mechanosensing regulates virulence in Escherichia coli O157:H7.
abstract: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a food-borne pathogen transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and can cause bloody diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in the human host. Although a range of colonization factors, Shiga toxins and a type III secretion system (T3SS) all contribute to disease development, the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) encoded T3SS is responsible for the formation of lesions in the intestinal tract. While a variety of chemical cues in the host environment are known to up-regulate LEE expression, we recently demonstrated that changes in physical forces at the site of attachment are required for localized, full induction of the system and thus spatial regulation of virulence in the intestinal tract. Here, we discuss our findings in the light of other recent studies describing mechanosensing of the host and force-dependent induction of virulence mechanisms. We discuss potential mechanisms of mechanosensing and mechanotransduction, and the level of conservation across bacterial species.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biotechnology , Bangladesh Agricultural University , Mymensingh , Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Md Shahidul
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.affiliation: b Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham , Edgbaston , Birmingham , United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anne Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Krachler
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006463:Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D040542:Mechanotransduction, Cellular / Q000502:physiology*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D022603:Shiga Toxins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000069296:Type III Secretion Systems / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C457340:LEE protein, E coli; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D022603:Shiga Toxins; D000069296:Type III Secretion Systems
keywords: attaching/effacing pathogens; enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli; gastrointestinal infection; host-pathogen interactions; locus of enterocyte effacement; mechanosensing