Zoonotic potential of atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) isolated from puppies with diarrhoea in Brazil.
Recent studies point atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) to be an important agent in childhood diarrhoea in Brazil. aEPEC are commonly found in various animal species, including dogs. Although the true zoonotic risk remains unknown, some strains recovered from dogs present the same serotypes and carry the same virulence genes implicated in human disease. In this study, we compared the virulence and genetic relationship among a set of aEPEC strains previously isolated from diarrheic faeces from companion dogs and humans. A total of 17 strains, 12 from puppies and five from children, were studied. The strains were assessed for: (i) presence of virulence-associated genes (a total of 31 genes) using PCR assays; (ii) genetic relationship by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE); and (iii) adherence pattern in intestinal Caco-2 cells. The occurrence of virulence genes was similar between the canine and human isolates presenting the same serotype. The fimbrial genes ecpA and fimH were the most frequently detected, followed by hcpA, tccP, tccP2, lpfA1, lpfA2, astA and toxB genes. Several nle genes were also detected, with one canine strain (O156:H- / ST327) showing all PAI O-122 genes investigated (efa-1, nleB, nleE and ent/espL2). Canine and human strains of the same serotype were grouped into a single cluster by RAPD and PFGE, in which the ST10 and ST206 were identified. Additionally, most of the strains exhibited a localized adherence-like phenotype when interacting with Caco-2 cells. The results showed that some canine aEPEC strains share virulence genes commonly found in human pathogenic strains. Moreover, strains of the same serotype, isolated from dogs and children, share virulence genes and are phylogenetically close, suggesting a potential zoonotic risk.
['Arais|Lavicie R|LR|', 'Barbosa|André V|AV|', 'Andrade|João R C|JRC|', 'Gomes|Tânia A T|TAT|', 'Asensi|Marise D|MD|', 'Aires|Caio A M|CAM|', 'Cerqueira|Aloysio M F|AMF|']
D000367:Age Factors D000818:Animals D002648:Child D003967:Diarrhea D004283:Dog Diseases D004285:Dogs D054308:Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli D004927:Escherichia coli Infections D005243:Feces D006801:Humans D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing D010802:Phylogeny D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique D065288:Serogroup D014774:Virulence D015047:Zoonoses
aEPEC Childhood diarrhoea Dogs Virulence Zoonosis