BOUZARI S, VATSALA B, VARGHESE A. CHA RA CTERIZATION OF VEROTOXIN-PRODUCING STRA INS OF ENTEROPATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI (EPEC) FROM CHILDREN WITH DIA RRHOEA: EFFECTS OF THE TOXIN ON RABB IT INTESTINE. Med J Islam Repub Iran 1994; 8 (1) :47-51
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http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/article-1-1404-en.html
From the Molecular Biology Unit, Pasteur Institute of lran,
Abstract: (4101 Views)
249 enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) strains from faecal samples of
90 children with diarrhoea were examined for verotoxin (VT) production. Polymyxin
B extracts of 61 strains belonging to 9 serogroups from 35 children produced various
verotoxins (VTs). The titre of these various VTs ranged from I :40 to I: 12HO.
Of the 26 (43.6%) adherent strains, 19 (73%) exhibited localized adherence
(LA) and 7 (27%) manifested enteroadherent-aggregative (EA-Agg) patterns. The
remaining 35 strains were nonadherent. Verotoxin producing EPECs elicited diverse
effects on rabbit intestine ranging from no effect to severe damage to epithelial
architecture, irrespective of their adherence patterns of HEp-2 cells. In conclusion,
as far as EPEC pathogenesis is concerned, the role of verotoxins could not be
established, but strains producing moderate to high levels of verotoxins may have an
increased pathogenicity over non-producers.