Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), first described in the 1940's and 1950's, remain an important cause of severe infantile diarrhoea in many parts of the developing world. EPEC do not produce enterotoxins and are not invasive; instead their virulence depends upon exploitation of host cell signalling pathways and the host cell cytoskeleton both as a means of colonizing mucosal surfaces of the small intestine and causing diarrhoea. Following initial mucosal attachment, EPEC secrete ‘signalling’ proteins and expresss a surface adhesin, intimin, to produce ‘attaching & effacing’ lesions in the enterocyte brush border membrane characterised by localised destruction of brush border microvilli, intimate bacterial adhesion and cytoskeletal reorganisation and accretion beneath attached bacteria. The pathophysiology of EPEC diarrhoea is also complex and probably results from a combination of epithelial cell responses including both electrolyte secretion and structural damage.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
December 01 1995
Cellular responses to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection
Stuart Knutton
Stuart Knutton
1Institute of Child Health, University of Birmingham, Fancis Road, Birmingham B16 8ET, U.K.
Search for other works by this author on:
Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
September 08 1995
Online ISSN: 1573-4935
Print ISSN: 0144-8463
© 1995 Plenum Publishing Corporation
1995
Biosci Rep (1995) 15 (6): 469–479.
Article history
Received:
September 08 1995
Citation
Stuart Knutton; Cellular responses to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection. Biosci Rep 1 December 1995; 15 (6): 469–479. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01204350
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign in to your personal account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Biochemical Society Member Sign in
Sign InSign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionGet Access To This Article
Cited By
Open Access for all
We offer compliant routes for all authors from 2025. With library support, there will be no author nor reader charges in 5 journals. Check here |
![]() |