This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Piva, I. C. Articles by Giugliano, L. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Piva, I. C. Articles by Giugliano, L. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 2003, p. 1827-1832, Vol. 41, No. 5
0095-1137/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.41.5.1827-1832.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Virulence Markers of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Isolated from Children and Adults with Diarrhea in Brasília, Brazil

Laboratório de Microbiologia, Departamento de Biologia Celular, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-900 Brasília DF,¹ Laboratório Central de Saúde Pública do Distrito Federal, 70830-010 Brasília DF, Brazil,² Laboratorio de Referencia de E. coli, Departamento de Microbiología y Parasitología, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain³

Received 30 September 2002/ Returned for modification 5 November 2002/ Accepted 1 February 2003

Escherichia coli strains isolated from sporadic cases of acute diarrhea in children and adults and from children without diarrhea were investigated for the presence of the pAA plasmid. Strains harboring the pAA plasmid were isolated at similar frequencies from children with (19.6%) and without (10.8%) diarrhea and from adults with diarrhea (11.8%). The genotypic and phenotypic virulence markers of these strains were further analyzed. Most of the strains were positive for EAST1 (73%), and this toxin was detected significantly more frequently in strains from children with diarrhea than in strains from adults with diarrhea (P < 0.05). Likewise, pic sequences were detected significantly more frequently in strains from children with diarrhea than in strains from adults with diarrhea (P < 0.005) and controls (P < 0.025). Furthermore, the association of pAA positivity (pAA⁺) and pic positivity (pic⁺) was more frequently found for strains from children with diarrhea than for strains from controls, indicating that pAA⁺ pic⁺ strains may represent a subset of pAA⁺ strains associated with disease in children. Most of the strains (82.5%) adhered to cells presenting the typical aggregative pattern. The frequency of occurrence of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) serogroups in the strains from children with diarrhea was very high (56%), while none of the strains from adults with diarrhea belonged to EPEC serogroups. Extraintestinal virulence markers were very commonly found in strains from adults with diarrhea. The frequencies of occurrence of the adhesins AFA and SFA were significantly higher in strains from adults with diarrhea than in strains from children with diarrhea. More than one extraintestinal virulence marker was found in 58% of the strains from adults with diarrhea but in only 7.7% of the strains from children with diarrhea. Our results show that pAA⁺ strains isolated from children and adults with diarrhea present very different profiles when enteroaggregative E. coli virulence markers, serotypes, and extraintestinal virulence markers are considered.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Mendez-Arancibia, E., Vargas, M., Soto, S., Ruiz, J., Kahigwa, E., Schellenberg, D., Urassa, H., Gascon, J., Vila, J. (2008). Prevalence of Different Virulence Factors and Biofilm Production in Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Isolates Causing Diarrhea in Children in Ifakara (Tanzania). Am J Trop Med Hyg 78: 985-989 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Araujo, J. M., Tabarelli, G. F., Aranda, K. R. S., Fabbricotti, S. H., Fagundes-Neto, U., Mendes, C. M. F., Scaletsky, I. C. A. (2007). Typical Enteroaggregative and Atypical Enteropathogenic Types of Escherichia coli Are the Most Prevalent Diarrhea-Associated Pathotypes among Brazilian Children. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 3396-3399 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Muller, D., Greune, L., Heusipp, G., Karch, H., Fruth, A., Tschape, H., Schmidt, M. A. (2007). Identification of Unconventional Intestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli Isolates Expressing Intermediate Virulence Factor Profiles by Using a Novel Single-Step Multiplex PCR. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 3380-3390 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Mohamed, J. A., Huang, D. B., Jiang, Z.-D., DuPont, H. L., Nataro, J. P., Belkind-Gerson, J., Okhuysen, P. C. (2007). Association of Putative Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Virulence Genes and Biofilm Production in Isolates from Travelers to Developing Countries. J. Clin. Microbiol. 45: 121-126 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Kahali, S., Sarkar, B., Rajendran, K., Khanam, J., Yamasaki, S., Nandy, R. K., Bhattacharya, S. K., Ramamurthy, T. (2004). Virulence Characteristics and Molecular Epidemiology of Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Isolates from Hospitalized Diarrheal Patients in Kolkata, India. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 4111-4120 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Heimer, S. R., Rasko, D. A., Lockatell, C. V., Johnson, D. E., Mobley, H. L. T. (2004). Autotransporter Genes pic and tsh Are Associated with Escherichia coli Strains That Cause Acute Pyelonephritis and Are Expressed during Urinary Tract Infection. Infect. Immun. 72: 593-597 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Sarantuya, J., Nishi, J., Wakimoto, N., Erdene, S., Nataro, J. P., Sheikh, J., Iwashita, M., Manago, K., Tokuda, K., Yoshinaga, M., Miyata, K., Kawano, Y. (2004). Typical Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli Is the Most Prevalent Pathotype among E. coli Strains Causing Diarrhea in Mongolian Children. J. Clin. Microbiol. 42: 133-139 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nishi, J., Sheikh, J., Mizuguchi, K., Luisi, B., Burland, V., Boutin, A., Rose, D. J., Blattner, F. R., Nataro, J. P. (2003). The Export of Coat Protein from Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli by a Specific ATP-binding Cassette Transporter System. J. Biol. Chem. 278: 45680-45689 [Abstract] [Full Text]