Isolation and characterisation of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 from calves in Argentina

Four hundred and twenty-two calves were examined for intestinal carriage of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 using conventional plating. Two (0.5%) E. coli O157 were recovered. They were compared with 96 Argentine strains of different origin by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, phage typing and PCR-RFLP of stx2 genes. One strain isolated from a calf, was closely related with 18 strains of clinical origin.     

牛源大肠杆菌O157：H7的分离及毒力基因鉴定

从2个牛场采集新鲜粪便,增菌后,免疫磁珠富集,涂布筛选性培养基,挑取可疑菌落用rfbE/fliC二重PCR和血清学方法鉴定。设计毒力基因stx1、stx2、eae、hlyA和tccp相应引物,针对O157：H7对分离株进行PCR鉴定。口服攻毒链霉素处理的BALB/c小鼠明确分离株致病性。结果显示,成功分离到7株出血性大肠杆菌O157：H7,并且有1株迟缓性发酵山梨醇麦康凯培养基。毒力基因检测显示,其中6株毒力因子表型为stx1-stx2＋eae＋hlyA＋tccp＋,另有1株表现型为stx1＋stx2＋eae＋hlyA＋tccp＋,各分离株tccp基因均为阳性,但携带的重复片段数量有差异。所采集样品中肠出血性大肠杆菌O157：H7的检出率高达12%。1×1010 CFU同剂量口服接种经PBS洗涤的5株O157：H7分离株全菌,小鼠存活率有差异分别为40%,50%,60%,20%,50%,各分离株在小鼠体内排菌时间也有差异分别为攻毒后7,9,13,13,15d。     

肠出血性大肠杆菌O157：H7噬菌体的分离纯化

分离纯化了抑制肠出血性大肠杆菌（Enterohemorrhagic E coli,EHEC）0157：H7的噬菌体,并对其进行效价测定。将宿主菌EHEC0157：H7培养制成悬液后与污水样品37℃共培养16h,将培养物离心、过滤除菌后得到该菌的噬菌体原液。噬菌体原液采用双层琼脂平板法进行5次纯化,得到直径相同的噬菌斑。纯化后噬菌体的效价达到12×10^pfu。电镜观察表明,该噬菌体呈蝌蚪状。根据ICTV对病毒的分类标准,该噬菌体属长尾噬菌体科,为烈性噬菌体。     

牛源大肠杆菌O157:H7的分离鉴定

为调查新疆部分地区E.coli O157：H7的感染情况和菌株致病性,从新疆阿克苏、伊犁、塔城3个地区的牛场采集新鲜粪样564份,对E.coli O157：H7进行分离与鉴定。利用E.coli营养肉汤（EC肉汤）对样品进行增菌后,用山梨醇麦康凯培养基（SMAC）平板选择性培养,再经过4-甲基伞形酮-β-D葡萄糖醛酸苷培养基（MUG）的筛选,对疑似菌株进行生化和PCR鉴定,并将分离鉴定到的菌株进行小鼠攻毒试验。结果显示,从伊犁地区采集的样品中共分离出2株E.coli O157：H7（Y166和Y226）,其检出率为0.88%;小鼠攻毒试验中,Y166和Y226试验组小鼠在48 h内全部死亡,具有一定致病性;从阿克苏、塔城所采样品中未分离到E.coli O157：H7。     

应用测试片快速检测食品中的大肠杆菌O157：H7

目的应用大肠杆菌O157:H7测试片快速检测食品中的大肠杆菌O157:H7。方法对大肠杆菌O157:H7测试片的各项指标及影响因素进行测试,并将其应用于食品检测。结果大肠杆菌O157:H7测试片的检测灵敏度高,其对纯菌的检测低限可达3cfu/mL;特异性较强,与鼠伤寒沙门氏菌、志贺氏菌等21种非目的菌无交叉反应;快速,24h内可报告阴性检测结果。应用该测试片检测各种食品206份,检测结果与SN标准的符合率达到98.5%。结论应用测试片检测食品中的大肠杆菌O157:H7具有快速、方便、经济、无需昂贵设备等优点。该测试片可适应于食品中大肠杆菌O157:H7的快速初筛。     

Antigen Epitope Peptides and Immunogenicity Analysis of E. coli O157: H7 Ivy Protein

To evaluate the feasibility of synthetic polypeptides O157:H7 Ivy146-157 as a vaccine antigen, a bioinformatics method was employed to analyze the secondary structures, hydrophilicity plot, flexibility plot, surface probability plot and antigenic index of the Ivy. A B-cell epitope peptide sequence was identified and synthesized. BALB/c mice were immunized with Ivy146-157, antibody titers and splenic lymphocytes proliferations in mice were tested. The results showed that the antibody titers were 1:6 400 after immunized mice three times. And the native Ivy protein of O157:H7 R14 strain was identified by polyclone antibody Ivy146-157. The MTT assay results indicated the splenic lyphocytes were increased after immunized polypeptides Ivy146-157, and had significant difference with the control group (P<0.05). These results indicated that polypeptides Ivy146-157 could induce a strong humoral and celluar immune respond, and it would provide a theory as a vaccine antigen for further researches.     

Molecular characterization of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains isolated from different sources and geographic regions

Escherichia (E.) coli serotype O157:H7 is a globally distributed human enteropathogen and is comprised of microorganisms with closely related genotypes. The main reservoir for this group is bovine bowels, and infection mainly occurs after ingestion of contaminated water and food. Virulence genetic markers of 28 O157:H7 strains were investigated and multilocus enzyme electrophoresis (MLEE) was used to evaluate the clonal structure. O157:H7 strains from several countries were isolated from food, human and bovine feces. According to MLEE, O157:H7 strains clustered into two main clonal groups designated A and B. Subcluster A1 included 82% of the O157:H7 strains exhibiting identical MLEE pattern. Most enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) O157:H7 strains from Brazil and Argentina were in the same MLEE subgroup. Bovine and food strains carried virulence genes associated with EHEC pathogenicity in humans.     

Interaction between attaching-effacing Escherichia coli O26:K60 and O157:H7 in young lambs

Recent surveys have shown that Escherichia coli O26 is prevalent in ruminants compared with E. coli O157. These serogroups share common colonisation factors and we hypothesised that prior colonisation by E. coli O26 may show reduced colonisation by E. coli O157. To test this hypothesis, strains of E. coli O26:K60 and O157:H7 were tested in competitive in vitro and in vivo studies. Using an established 6-week-old lamb model, an experimental group of lambs was dosed orally with E. coli O26:K60 and then E. coli O157:H7 four days later. The faecal shedding of O26:K60 and O157:H7 organisms from this experimental group was compared with that from animals dosed with either O26:K60 alone or O157:H7 alone. Shedding data indicated that counts for O157:H7 were unaffected by the competition from O26:K60, whereas the O26:K60 counts were lower when competing with O157:H7.     

沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌O157:H7双重荧光PCR检测方法的研究

目的建立一种能同时检测沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌O157:H7的双重荧光PCR方法,应用于动物源性食品的快速检验。方法根据沙门氏菌invA基因和大肠杆菌O157:H7 RFBE基因的保守序列,设计引物和探针,通过优化反应条件,建立可同时检测沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌O157:H7的双重荧光PCR方法,应用于动物源性食品的检验,并与miniVIDAS快速初筛方法和SN标准方法进行比较。结果本研究建立的双重荧光PCR方法可同时快速检测沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌O157:H7,对纯菌的检测灵敏度均低于10CFU/双重荧光PCR反应体系。应用本方法检测36株标准/参考菌株,结果只有9株目的菌标准/参考菌株出现特异性扩增,其余27株非目的菌均呈阴性反应。定量检测重复性试验结果,批内和批间的变异系数均小于2%。应用本方法检测人工染菌样品,结果与miniVIDAS和SN方法检测结果一致,但检测时间比miniVIDAS快了3倍,比SN标准快了10多倍。结论本研究建立的双重荧光PCR方法具有快速、灵敏、特异、重复性好的优点,可在8小时内完成样品沙门氏菌和大肠杆菌O157:H7的检验。     

Gene markers of generic Escherichia coli associated with colonization and persistence of Escherichia coli O157 in cattle

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 are important foodborne pathogens whose major reservoir are asymptomatic cattle. There is evidence suggesting that nonpathogenic E. coli and bacteriophages in the gastro-intestinal tract can influence the pathogenicity of EHEC O157. The factors contributing to the onset and persistence of shedding EHEC O157 in cattle are not completely elucidated. This study used Bayesian network analysis to identify genetic markers of generic E. coli associated with shedding of EHEC O157 in cattle from data generated during an oral experimental challenge study in 4 groups of 6 steers inoculated with three different EHEC O157 strains. The quantification of these associations was accomplished using mixed effects logistic regression. The results showed that the concurrent presence of generic E. coli carrying the prophage marker R4-N and the virulence marker stx2 increased the odds of the onset of EHEC O157 shedding. The presence of prophage markers z2322 and X011C increased, while C1.N decreased the odds of shedding EHEC O157 two days later. A significant antagonist interaction effect between the presence of the virulence marker stx2 on the day of shedding EHEC O157 and two days before shedding was also found. In terms of the persistence of EHEC O157 shedding, the presence of prophage marker R4-N (OR = 16, and 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 252) was found to increase the odds of stopping EHEC O157 shedding, whereas prophage marker C1.N (OR = 0.16, CI: 0.03, 0.7) and the enterohemolysin gene hly (OR = 0.03, CI: 0.001, 0.8) were found to significantly decrease the odds of stopping EHEC O157 shedding. In conclusion, the study found that the presence of certain genetic markers in the generic E. coli genome can influence the pathogenicity of EHEC O157.     

Genetic Variations in Shiga Toxin‐Producing Abilities of Bovine and Human Escherichia coli O157:H7

Cattle are a primary reservoir of Escherichia coli O157:H7, a major foodborne pathogen. The organism causes haemorrhagic colitis which can lead to serious complications, including haemolytic–uraemic syndrome. Although E. coli O157:H7 is widely prevalent in cattle and cattle environments, the number of human cases remain relatively low, suggesting possible strain diversity and differences in virulence between human and bovine strains. Shiga toxins, Stx1 and Stx2, are the major virulence factors. Differences in Stx2 production between human and bovine strains have been demonstrated previously, and isolates possessing the stx₂ gene, but not producing Stx2 [toxin non‐producing (TNP) strains] have been identified. In this study, 150 isolates (56 human, 94 bovine) were tested by PCR for stx2 upstream regions associated with TNP and the Q933 gene, which has been previously associated with toxin production. A reverse passive latex agglutination test was used to evaluate 107 isolates (50 human, 57 bovine) for Stx1 and Stx2 production. The percentages of human and bovine isolates positive for presence of the TNP regions were similar (57.1% and 53.1% respectively), while a higher percentage of human isolates was positive for Q933 gene (89.3% versus 54.3%). Stx2 production of ≥1 : 8 was found in 86.0% of human isolates compared with 26.3% of bovine isolates. Bovine isolates with the presence of the TNP regions were associated with significantly lower Stx2 production (P < 0.05), while the Q933 gene was associated with higher Stx2 production (P < 0.05). However, the presence of the TNP region was not associated (P > 0.05) with low Stx2 production in human isolates. Therefore, Q933 was a better indicator of high Stx2 production by human and bovine isolates and may be a useful screening method to assess their potential to cause human disease.     

猪源大肠杆菌O157:H7鞭毛蛋白抗原表位分析及验证

利用生物信息学分析大肠杆菌O157:H7鞭毛蛋白FliC的二级结构及亲水性、抗原指数、柔性区域和表面可能性等指数,预测大肠杆菌O157:H7鞭毛蛋白FliC的潜在B细胞抗原表位,为其致病性研究提供理论基础。利用DNAStar软件Protean程序中Garnier-Robson方法和Chou-Fasman方法分析鞭毛蛋白FliC的α-螺旋、β-折叠、转角区域和卷曲区域,通过Kyte-Doolittle方法、Karplus-Schulz方法、Emini方法和Jameson-Wolf方法分析鞭毛蛋白FliC的亲水性、柔性区域、表面可能性和抗原指数。综合分析得出鞭毛蛋白FliC 63-74、236-247、338-349、460-471、542-553位氨基酸序列为潜在的B细胞优势抗原表位。化学合成法合成优势抗原表位338-349和460-471肽段,免疫BALB/c小鼠3次后,采用ELISA方法验证抗体水平。ELISA结果显示,338-349、460-471肽段具有很强的抗原性,能引起BALB/c小鼠产生高滴度的抗体。     

猪源大肠杆菌O157∶H7毒力差异株的转录组测序分析

为了解大肠杆菌O157∶H7毒力差异株转录组差异,丰富O157∶H7转录组数据信息,本研究采用Illumina HiSeq^TM 2000平台对两株大肠杆菌O157∶H7毒力差异株进行高通量测序,测序数据采用测序评估、基因功能注释等生物信息学方法进行分析。结果发现,经过测序,两个菌株分别获得3 113 118和2 944 912条reads,比对到参考基因组上的reads分别占总reads的83.76%和78.97%。以中等毒力株为参考,在高毒力株中共获得941个差异表达基因,其中上调基因637个,下调基因304个。GO功能注释分析表明,差异表达基因主要与催化活性功能、黏附、转运活性、受体活性、酶调节活性、定位、生化调节、运动等诸多生理生化过程相关;KEGG富集分析发现共有425个基因注释到160个代谢通路中,其中新陈代谢、核糖体、鞭毛合成、嘧啶代谢、糖类代谢、细菌趋化等通路显著富集。此次通过大肠杆菌O157∶H7毒力差异株转录组研究对差异表达基因涉及的信号调控及可能的功能基因进行了探索,丰富了转录组信息,为进一步开展大肠杆菌O157∶H7毒力相关基因的研究及分子调控机制奠定了基础。     

All blood, No stool: enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 is a pathotype of diarrheagenic E. coli that produces one or more Shiga toxins, forms a characteristic histopathology described as attaching and effacing lesions, and possesses the large virulence plasmid pO157. The bacterium is recognized worldwide, especially in developed countries, as an emerging food-borne bacterial pathogen, which causes disease in humans and in some animals. Healthy cattle are the principal and natural reservoir of E. coli O157:H7, and most disease outbreaks are, therefore, due to consumption of fecally contaminated bovine foods or dairy products. In this review, we provide a general overview of E. coli O157:H7 infection, especially focusing on the bacterial characteristics rather than on the host responses during infection.     

Occurrence of non-sorbitol fermenting, verocytotoxin-lacking Escherichia coli O157 on cattle farms

Escherichia coli O157 is often associated with hemorrhagic colitis and the hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The verocytotoxins are considered to be the major virulence determinants. However, vt-negative E. coli O157 were recently isolated from patients with HUS. Several transmission routes to humans are described, but cattle feces are the primary source from which both the food supply and the environment become contaminated with E. coli O157.In a prevalence study performed on dairy, beef, mixed dairy/beef and veal farms in the summer of 2007, vt-negative isolates were detected on 11.8% (8/68) of the positive farms. From these eight farms, a total of 43 sorbitol-negative E. coli O157:H7 were collected. On five farms, only strains negative for the vt genes were present whereas both vt-negative and vt-positive strains could be detected on three other farms. Further characterization revealed that all isolates carried the eaeA and hlyA genes. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of all isolates resulted in nine different PFGE types and within the vt-negative strains, four different genotypes were identified, indicating that certain genetic clones are widespread over the cattle population.     

新疆牛源大肠杆菌O157∶H7的分离鉴定及ERIC-PCR基因分型研究

为了了解牛源大肠杆菌（E.coli）O157∶H7在新疆地区的污染状况以及遗传多样性,探究不同地区分离菌株的遗传关系,为控制牛源E.coli O157∶H7的传播提供试验依据。将采集的样品在EC肉汤中进行增菌（37 ℃、180 r/min）,接着将增菌液划线接种到SMAC平板上,37 ℃培养箱中过夜培养18 h左右。挑取SMAC平板上白色或无色单菌落接种MUG培养基,37 ℃培养18 h左右,将无荧光样品接种到SMAC平板上,37 ℃培养18 h左右,隔天挑取白色或无色单菌落进行PCR鉴定,具有rfbE和fliC基因条带的即为阳性菌株。将阳性菌株进行肠杆菌基因间重复共有序列扩增（ERIC-PCR）指纹图谱聚类分析,分析菌株之间的同源性关系。ERIC-PCR结果显示,相似性100%的菌株有3组。从伊犁地区分离到的菌株差异性最大,具有6种分型;其次是乌鲁木齐,具有4种分型。菌株来源多样性最多的在D簇,由此可见通过ERIC-PCR分型,可以进行溯源观察。ERIC-PCR能够区分特定采样点或物种的分离物,它能够证明从不同来源的菌株之间,存在着某些相似的ERIC特性,并聚集在同一个簇群中。该研究中筛选出的E.coli O157∶H7菌株具有广泛的遗传多样性,该方法对于检测不同物种间的细菌差异非常敏感。由此可见ERIC-PCR可以作为E.coli O157∶H7常规监测和鉴定的一个有效的工具。     

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli in healthy cattle, sheep and swine herds in Northern Spain

Three-hundred and forty-five herds (17 swine, 122 dairy sheep, 124 beef and 82 dairy cattle) were investigated for prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). Rectal faecal samples were selectively enriched and then examined by immunodetection techniques (Immunomagnetic Separation with anti-E. coli O157 Dynabeads, ImmunoMagnetic cell Separation (IMS) and automated enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay using VIDAS) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (rfbE and fliC genes) to assess the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7. Prevalence of non-O157 STEC was estimated by PCR screening for stx genes of 10 lactose-positive colonies grown on MacConkey agar after enrichment. PCR was used on all STEC isolates to detect stx(1), stx(2), eaeA and E-hlyA genes. Both immunodetection methods showed a moderate-good level of agreement (kappa = 0.649) but IMS showed 87.5% complementary sensitivity. Prevalence of positive herds for E. coli O157:H7 was estimated at 8.7% for sheep and 3.8% for cattle, whereas all the porcine herds tested negative. Non-O157 STEC were also absent from swine, but were isolated more frequently from ovine (50.8%) than bovine herds (35.9%). Within-herd prevalences of excretion of E. coli O157:H7 established by individual testing of 279 sheep (six herds) and 30 beef cattle (one herd) were 7.3% and 6.7% respectively. PCR analysis of 49 E. coli O157:H7 and 209 non-O157 isolates showed a different distribution of virulence genes. All E. coli O157:H7 were stx(2) gene-positive, eaeA was detected in 95.9%, and the toxigenic profile stx(2)/eaeA/E-hlyA was present in 75.5% of the isolates. Among the non-O157 STEC, prevalence of eaeA was significantly lower (5.3%) and E-hlyA was present in 50.2% of the isolates but only sporadically associated with eaeA. stx(2) was predominant in non-O157 isolates from cattle, whereas in sheep the combination stx(1)/stx(2) was more prevalent. This study demonstrated the wide distribution of STEC in ruminant herds, which represent an important reservoir for strains that pose a potential risk for human infections.     

大肠杆菌O157:H7的疫病生态学研究进展及其控制对策

大肠杆菌O157:H7是一种感染剂量低,致病性强,临床上无特效治疗药物的新型肠道致病菌,在世界范围内多次爆发流行,已构成严重的公共卫生问题。对大肠杆菌O157:H7的基本生物学特征,从非生物因素(包括传染源、气候等因素)和生物因素两个方面综述了影响大肠杆菌O157:H7传播的环境因子,最后从病原菌的监测诊断技术、废弃物堆肥处理、加强食品以及饮水安全管理等方面提出了控制大肠杆菌O157:H7的对策,最终为大肠杆菌O157:H7的疫病生态学研究提供了理论基础和参考依据。     

用PCR鉴定大肠杆菌O157∶H7

根据大肠杆菌Ｏ１５７∶Ｈ７的编码ｅａｅ蛋白的ｅａｅＡ基因和大肠杆菌编码Ｈ７抗原的ｆｌｉＣ基因的核甘酸序列,合成了２对寡核苷酸引物,建立了一个检测大肠杆菌Ｏ１５７∶Ｈ７的ＰＣＲ方法。对１１株已知大肠杆菌Ｏ１５７∶Ｈ７（ＮＭ;无运动性）株和其他不同属的４２株已知肠道致病菌的检测结果表明,该方法只从大肠杆菌Ｏ１５７∶Ｈ７（ＮＭ）株的ＤＮＡ中产生预期的扩增产物,而从其他菌株的ＤＮＡ中未扩增出任何ＤＮＡ产物。该方法从基因水平直接确定大肠杆菌的血清型,特异性强,克服了以往血清学方法有非特异性反应的缺陷,为检测和鉴定大肠杆菌Ｏ１５７∶Ｈ７（ＮＭ）提供了一个新方法。