Department of Cell Biology, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN (CINVESTAV-IPN), México DF, Mexico.
Gut Microbes. 2011 Jan-Feb;2(1):13-24. doi: 10.4161/gmic.2.1.14933.
Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an emerging pathogen associated with acute and persistent diarrhea in children and adults. EAEC strains are very heterogeneous and the pathogenesis of EAEC diarrhea is complex and not completely understood. Studies have suggested three major features of EAEC pathogenesis: abundant adherence to the intestinal mucosa, elaboration of enterotoxins and cytotoxins, and induction of mucosal inflammation. Here, we discuss the role of the virulence factors involved in these three major features, focusing in the EAEC adhesion including fimbrial and afimbrial factors, EAEC toxins and autotransporter proteins, such as Pet (plasmid encoded toxin) and Pic (protein involved in colonization); both proteins play a role in two EAEC pathogenic features: cytotoxicity and mucosal colonization, including the bacterium-mucus biofilm. Finally we discuss relevant factors involved in the inflammatory process induce by EAEC, such as flagellin, fimbria and regulator factors (AggR). Interestingly, all these factors are not present in all EAEC strain, contributing to EAEC heterogeneity.
肠聚集性大肠杆菌（EAEC）是一种与儿童和成人急性和持续性腹泻相关的新兴病原体。EAEC 菌株非常多样，其腹泻的发病机制复杂且尚未完全了解。研究表明，EAEC 发病机制有三个主要特征：大量黏附于肠黏膜、产生肠毒素和细胞毒素、诱导黏膜炎症。在这里，我们讨论了与这三个主要特征相关的毒力因子的作用，重点关注包括菌毛和非菌毛因子、EAEC 毒素和自转运蛋白在内的 EAEC 黏附相关因子，如 Pet（质粒编码毒素）和 Pic（定植相关蛋白）；这两种蛋白都在 EAEC 的两种致病特征（细胞毒性和黏膜定植）中发挥作用，包括细菌-黏液生物膜。最后，我们讨论了 EAEC 诱导炎症过程中相关的因子，如鞭毛、菌毛和调节因子（AggR）。有趣的是，并非所有 EAEC 菌株都存在所有这些因子，这导致了 EAEC 的异质性。
