Effect of coiled-coil peptides on the function of the type III secretion system-dependent activity of enterohemorragic Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Citrobacter rodentium.

Many animal and human pathogenic Gram-negative bacteria such as Salmonella, Yersinia, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) possess a type III secretion system (TTSS) that is used to deliver virulence proteins directly into the host cell. Recent evidence has suggested that CoilA and CoilB, two synthetic peptides corresponding to coiled-coil domains of the translocator protein EspA, are effective in inhibiting the action of TTSS from EPEC. In the current study, the action of these coiled-coil peptides on the TTSS of EHEC O157:H7 and Citrobacter rodentium was examined. CoilA and CoilB showed to be effective in reducing the red blood cell lysis mediated by EHEC O157:H7 and the in vitro secretion of translocator proteins EspB and EspD by EHEC O157:H7 and EspD by C. rodentium. Treatment of mice with CoilA and CoilB peptides prevented colon damage when the animals were inoculated with C. rodentium. Colon samples of the non-treated group showed areas with loss of superficial epithelium, damaged cells, and endoluminal mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate, consistent with histological lesions induced by C. rodentium, whereas mice treated with the synthetic peptides displayed normal surface epithelium showing a similar structure as the uninfected control group. These encouraging results prompt us to test coiled-coil peptides as treatment or vaccines in other models of bacterial infections in future work.

Reduced faecal shedding of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle following systemic vaccination with γ-intimin C280 and EspB proteins.

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is the most prevalent EHEC serotype that has been recovered from patients with haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) worldwide. Vaccination of cattle, the main reservoir of EHEC O157:H7, could be a logical strategy to fight infection in humans. This study evaluated a vaccine based on the carboxyl-terminal fragment of 280 amino acids of γ-intimin (γ-intimin C280) and EspB, two key colonization factors of E. coli O157:H7. Intramuscular immunization elicited significantly high levels of serum IgG antibodies against both proteins. Antigen-specific IgA and IgG were also induced in saliva, but only the IgA response was significant. Following experimental challenge with E. coli O157:H7, a significant reduction in bacterial shedding was observed in vaccinated calves, compared to control group. These promising results suggest that systemic immunization of cattle with intimin and EspB could be a feasible strategy to reduce EHEC O157:H7 faecal shedding in cattle.

Effect of tannins on the in vitro growth of Clostridium perfringens.

Vegetable tannins are water-soluble polyphenolic compounds of varying molecular weights that occur abundantly in nature. The diet of many free-ranging wild animals contains significant amounts of tannins. Also, commercial tannins are used in animal industry as food additives to improve animal performance. In order to further determine the capacity of tannins to inhibit the development of intestinal diseases produced by Clostridium pefringens, we evaluated here the effect of tannins from quebracho, chestnut or combinations of both on C. perfringens and their toxins. The C. perfringens (types A, B, C, D and E) growth obtained from the intestine of healthy and diseased animals was reduced in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of quebracho tannins, chestnut tannins, combinations of both or a commercial formula based in these tannins. Although the minimal inhibitory concentration of both tannins varied between isolates, no statistically significant differences were observed between isolates from healthy or sick animals. Comparative analysis showed that the concentrations of quebracho tannin inhibiting the growth of C. perfringens were higher than chestnut tannin. In fact, antibacterial effect of quebracho tannin was increased up to 20 times with the addition of 25% of chestnut tannin and 85 times with 75% of chestnut tannin. Antibacterial activity of the commercial product was up to ~50 times higher than quebracho tannin alone. Quebracho tannin showed partial bactericidal activity, whereas chestnut tannin activity was stronger. Both tannins were able to reduce the alpha toxin lecithinase activity and epsilon toxin cytotoxicity in MDCK cells. These results suggest that tannin-supplemented diet could be useful to prevent some clostridial diseases.