The Role of the AggR Regulon in the Virulence of the Shiga Toxin-Producing Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Epidemic O104:H4 Strain in Mice.

An O104:H4 Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) strain caused a large outbreak of bloody diarrhea and the hemolytic uremic syndrome in 2011. We previously developed an ampicillin (Amp)-treated C57BL/6 mouse model to measure morbidity (weight loss) and mortality of mice orally infected with the prototype Stx-EAEC strain C227-11. Here, we hypothesized that mice fed C227-11 cured of the pAA plasmid or deleted for individual genes on that plasmid would display reduced virulence compared to animals given the wild-type (wt) strain. C227-11 cured of the pAA plasmid or deleted for the known pAA-encoded virulence genes aggR, aggA, sepA, or aar were fed to Amp-treated C57BL/6 mice at doses of 1010-1011CFU. Infected animals were then either monitored for morbidity and lethality for 28 days or euthanized to determine intestinal pathology and colonization levels at selected times. The pAA-cured, aggR, and aggA mutants of strain C227-11 all showed reduced colonization at various intestinal sites. However, the aggR mutant was the only mutant attenuated for virulence as it showed both reduced morbidity and mortality. The aar mutant showed increased expression of the aggregative adherence fimbriae (AAF) and caused greater systemic effects in infected mice when compared to the C227-11 wt strain. However, unexpectedly, both the aggA and aar mutants displayed increased weight loss compared to wt. The sepA mutant did not exhibit altered morbidity or mortality in the Amp-treated mouse model compared to wt. Our data suggest that the increased morbidity due to the aar mutant could possibly be via an effect on expression of an as yet unknown virulence-associated factor under AggR control.

Shiga Toxin (Stx) Type 1a Reduces the Oral Toxicity of Stx Type 2a.

BACKGROUND: Shiga toxin (Stx) is the primary virulence factor of Stx-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). STEC can produce Stx1a and/or Stx2a, which are antigenically distinct. However, Stx2a-producing STEC are associated with more severe disease than strains producing both Stx1a and Stx2a. METHODS AND RESULTS: To address the hypothesis that the reason for the association of Stx2a with more severe disease is because Stx2a crosses the intestinal barrier with greater efficiency that Stx1a, we covalently labeled Stx1a and Stx2a with Alexa Fluor 750 and determined the ex vivo fluorescent intensity of murine systemic organs after oral intoxication. Surprisingly, both Stxs exhibited similar dissemination patterns and accumulated in the kidneys. We next cointoxicated mice to determine whether Stx1a could impede Stx2a. Cointoxication resulted in increased survival and an extended mean time to death, compared with intoxication with Stx2a only. The survival benefit was dose dependent, with the greatest effect observed when 5 times more Stx1a than Stx2a was delivered, and was amplified when Stx1a was delivered 3 hours prior to Stx2a. Cointoxication with an Stx1a active site toxoid also reduced Stx2a toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: These studies suggest that Stx1a reduces Stx2a-mediated toxicity, a finding that may explain why STEC that produce only Stx2a are associated with more severe disease than strains producing Stx1a and Stx2a.

Mapping of genetic loci that modulate differential colonization by Escherichia coli O157:H7 TUV86-2 in advanced recombinant inbred BXD mice.

BACKGROUND: Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing E. coli (STEC) are responsible for foodborne outbreaks that can result in severe human disease. During an outbreak, differential disease outcomes are observed after infection with the same STEC strain. One question of particular interest is why some infected people resolve infection after hemorrhagic colitis whereas others progress to the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Host age and infection dose have been implicated; however, these parameters do not appear to fully account for all of the observed variation in disease severity. Therefore, we hypothesized that additional host genetic factors may play a role in progression to HUS. METHODS AND RESULTS: To mimic the genetic diversity in the human response to infection by STEC, we measured the capacity of an O157:H7 outbreak isolate to colonize mouse strains from the advanced recombinant inbred (ARI) BXD panel. We first infected the BXD parental strains C57BL/6 J (B6) and DBA/2 J (D2) with either 86-24 (Stx2a+) or TUV86-2, an Stx2a-negative isogenic mutant. Colonization levels were determined in an intact commensal flora (ICF) infection model. We found a significant difference in colonization levels between the parental B6 and D2 strains after infection with TUV86-2 but not with 86-24. This observation suggested that a host factor that may be masked by Stx2a affects O157:H7 colonization in some genetic backgrounds. We then determined the TUV86-2 colonization levels of 24 BXD strains in the ICF model. We identified several quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with variation in colonization by correlation analyses. We found a highly significant QTL on proximal chromosome 9 (12.5-26.7 Mb) that strongly predicts variation in colonization levels and accounts for 15-20 % of variance. Linkage, polymorphism and co-citation analyses of the mapped region revealed 36 candidate genes within the QTL, and we identified five genes that are most likely responsible for the differential colonization. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of the QTL on chromosome 9 supports our hypothesis that individual genetic makeup affects the level of colonization after infection with STEC O157:H7.

Antibodies against hemolysin and cytotoxic necrotizing factor type 1 (CNF1) reduce bladder inflammation in a mouse model of urinary tract infection with toxigenic uropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the leading cause of cystitis. Cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1) and hemolysin (Hly) are toxins made by approximately 50% of UPEC isolates. CNF1 and Hly contribute to the robust inflammatory response in the bladders of mice challenged with UPEC strain CP9. We hypothesized that antibodies against CNF1 and/or Hly would reduce cystitis caused by CP9. To test this theory, we immunized female C3H/HeOuJ mice subcutaneously with a genetically derived Hly toxoid or genetically derived CNF1 toxoid plus sublethal doses of CNF1. We collected serum and observed increasing titers of specific and neutralizing antibodies against Hly or CNF1 over time. We challenged the mice intraurethrally with CP9 and euthanized them 24 h later. We observed 10-fold lower bacterial titers in the urine of Hly-immunized mice than in that of sham-immunized mice but no difference in kidney bacterial titers. Immunized mice also exhibited significantly less cystitis than sham-immunized mice. In CNF1-vaccinated mice, we detected neither a difference in urine or kidney bacterial titers nor a reduction in the severity of cystitis versus that of sham-immunized mice. We then passively administered an anti-CNF1 monoclonal antibody intraperitoneally to female C3H/HeOuJ mice prior to intraurethral challenge with CP9. Upon challenge, we noted no difference in colonization of the urine or kidney; however, cystitis was reduced significantly in mice treated with the anti-CNF1 antibody versus that in the bladders of mice given an isotype control antibody. Taken together, our data demonstrate that antibodies against CNF1 or Hly reduce the bladder pathology caused by UPEC.

Comparisons of native Shiga toxins (Stxs) type 1 and 2 with chimeric toxins indicate that the source of the binding subunit dictates degree of toxicity.

Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing E. coli (STEC) cause food-borne outbreaks of hemorrhagic colitis. The main virulence factor expressed by STEC, Stx, is an AB5 toxin that has two antigenically distinct forms, Stx1a and Stx2a. Although Stx1a and Stx2a bind to the same receptor, globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), Stx2a is more potent than Stx1a in mice, whereas Stx1a is more cytotoxic than Stx2a in cell culture. In this study, we used chimeric toxins to ask what the relative contribution of individual Stx subunits is to the differential toxicity of Stx1a and Stx2a in vitro and in vivo. Chimeric stx1/stx2 operons were generated by PCR such that the coding regions for the A2 and B subunits of one toxin were combined with the coding region for the A1 subunit of the heterologous toxin. The toxicities of purified Stx1a, Stx2a, and the chimeric Stxs were determined on Vero and HCT-8 cell lines, while polarized HCT-8 cell monolayers grown on permeable supports were used to follow toxin translocation. In all in vitro assays, the activity of the chimeric toxin correlated with that of the parental toxin from which the B subunit originated. The origin of the native B subunit also dictated the 50% lethal dose of toxin after intraperitoneal intoxication of mice; however, the chimeric Stxs exhibited reduced oral toxicity and pH stability compared to Stx1a and Stx2a. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that the differential toxicity of the chimeric toxins for cells and mice is determined by the origin of the B subunit.