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Review
. 2018 Nov 19;6(4):115.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms6040115.

Modulation of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli Survival and Virulence in the Human Gastrointestinal Tract

Grégory Jubelin  1 , Mickaël Desvaux  2 , Stephanie Schüller  3   4 , Lucie Etienne-Mesmin  5 , Maite Muniesa  6 , Stéphanie Blanquet-Diot  7
Affiliations
Review

Modulation of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli Survival and Virulence in the Human Gastrointestinal Tract

Grégory Jubelin et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is a major foodborne pathogen responsible for human diseases ranging from diarrhoea to life-threatening complications. Survival of the pathogen and modulation of virulence gene expression along the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) are key features in bacterial pathogenesis, but remain poorly described, due to a paucity of relevant model systems. This review will provide an overview of the in vitro and in vivo studies investigating the effect of abiotic (e.g., gastric acid, bile, low oxygen concentration or fluid shear) and biotic (e.g., gut microbiota, short chain fatty acids or host hormones) parameters of the human gut on EHEC survival and/or virulence (especially in relation with motility, adhesion and toxin production). Despite their relevance, these studies display important limitations considering the complexity of the human digestive environment. These include the evaluation of only one single digestive parameter at a time, lack of dynamic flux and compartmentalization, and the absence of a complex human gut microbiota. In a last part of the review, we will discuss how dynamic multi-compartmental in vitro models of the human gut represent a novel platform for elucidating spatial and temporal modulation of EHEC survival and virulence along the GIT, and provide new insights into EHEC pathogenesis.

Keywords: EHEC; in vitro GI models; virulence factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of the main physical and chemical processes of the human gastro-intestinal tract.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Influence of abiotic factors on EHEC virulence. EHEC has the ability to resist the stressful conditions encountered in the gut such as acidic pH and bile salts and utilizes various abiotic GI cues to modulate the expression of its virulence factors. Stx: Shiga-toxins, LPF: Long Polar Fimbriae, LEE: Locus of Enterocytes Effacement, T3SS: Type III secretion system, AR: Acid resistance, arrow with the sign + represents an activation process, bolded line with the sign − represents repression, ?? indicates contradictory results.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Influence of biotic factors on EHEC virulence. EHEC have evolved several strategies to modulate the expression of their virulence factors in response to biotic factors from the gut microenvironments. Each panel represents the interactions of EHEC with one biotic factor. Bt: Bacteroidetes thetaiotaomicron, LEE: Locus of Enterocytes Effacement, NagC: N-acetylglucosamine sensor, SCFA: Short Chain Fatty Acids, Gb3: globotriaosylceramide, T3SS: Type III secretion system, StcE: metalloprotease, arrow with the sign + represents an activation process, bolded line with the sign − represents repression, ? indicates contradictory results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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