Abstract
Epithelial cell invasiveness is an important, pathogenic mechanism of some enteric bacteria including E. coli. Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC) invade the large bowel mucosa and cause dysentery-like diarrhoeal disease indistinguishable from Shigellosis. Invasiveness is demonstrated by the Serény test or in tissue culture cells. In this study we examined the ability of diarrhoea-genie E. coli isolates to invade cultured HEp-2 and human colonic epithelial cells. 8 Serény-positive E. coli isolates invaded HEp-2 cells whereas enterotoxigenic and enteropathogenic E. coli isolates were non-invasive. In each case invasiveness was greatly increased (from ∼1% up to ∼40% cells invaded) when bacteria were centrifuged (1,000 rpm, 10 min.) onto cell monolayers. The HEp-2 invasiveness assay was subsequently adapted to assess the ability of EIEC to invade human colonic epithelial cells. Bacteria were centrifuged onto cultured human colonic biopsies following removal of the mucus layer and biopsies cultured for up to a further 12 hours. Invasiveness was assessed histologically or by phase contrast microscopy of epithelial cells isolated from the biopsies. By both criteria colonocyte invasion of the 2 EIEC strains tested was demonstrated. We believe this to be the first reported in vitro demonstration of invasiveness of human intestinal mucosa by a human enteropathogen.
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Knutton, S., McNeish, A. 69. INVASIVENESS OF ESCHERICHIA COLI IN HEp-2 AND HUMAN COLONIC EPITHELIAL CELLS. Pediatr Res 22, 107 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198707000-00090
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198707000-00090