Enteropathogens Flashcards
What are the 4 F’s for transmission of most enteropathogens? How is this clinically significant?
Feces, Fingers, Flies and Food (and water);
Water quality and food sanitation is a major focus of public health to prevent outbreaks (greater frequency outside of the US)
What are the 3 antigens that are essential in serotyping organisms?
(H) Flagella, (O) LPS, (K) Kapsule
How is serotyping used in epidemiology of food poison outbreaks? Provide an example.
Serotyping enables scientists to trace back common serotypes coming from food chains that may distribute their contaminated products over a large area. For instance, a specific E. Coli serotypes can be traced back to a supply chain.
What are the 2 toxins of Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)? What is the major disease of this E. coli?
- Labile toxin made in lower amounts; resembles cholera toxin
- Stable Toxin; analogue of gut peptide hormone; stimulates Guanyl cyclase;
A major disease is Inflammatory enteritis where the high cAMP levels = diarrhea as in cholera
Describe the Type 3 system in Inflammatory Enteritis.
This is a method in which ETEC attaches to epithelial cells and injects toxins into them to induce their own phagocytosis like a molecular syringe
Describe some features of EPEC.
Adhere to enterocytes and activates Type III secretion to cause cytoskeletal rearrangement, to form CUPPED PEDESTALS. In these infections, the brush border disappears.
What organism causes Bacillary dysentery? Describe the symptoms involved.
Shigella which is similar to Shiga toxin producing E. Coli (STEC) produces Bacillary dysentery. This features painful, bloody low volume stools and abdominal cramps.
Describe the MOA by which STEC or Shigella infects enterocytes.
- Transcytosed by M cells
- Invade enterocytes from basal surface
- Enter cytosol to induce ACTIN POLYMERIZATION
- Growing actin pushes bacteria into ADJACENT CELLS through PM
- This spreads the infection laterally
What are the local and systemic effects of Shiga toxin?
Local GI effect produces dysentery, but if systemic, this causes Hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS involves microvascular damage in the kidney and RBC lysis.
How does Shigella differ from STEC?
Shigella spreads from human to human; whereas STEC spreads from animals (i.e. cattle) to humans. Although they both elicit similar symptoms.
Describe the mechanism by which non-typhoidal Salmonella cause disease.
Use M cells to exit the lumen, invade enterocytes then multiply. They cause macrophages to undergo apoptosis via Type III system. This results in non-bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting.
Describe the 2 ways in which Helicobacter pylori escapes stomach acid.
- Lives below the mucus layer
2. Secretes urease to convert urea to ammonia (basic env.)
Describe the ways to diagnose/treat H. pylori.
Diagnosis: Gastric biopsy, breath test (radio-labeled urea breathed in > collect exhaled CO2 for detection), stool antigen assays;
Treatment: antibiotics as a mainstay
Describe why doctor’s might be worried about a young child recently treated for Typhoid fever?
The treated child may be in a chronic carrier state in which typhoidal salmonella can reside in the gall bladder and the child can spread this infection to other children in daycare per se.
What is the significance about the virulence factor for Urinary tract E. Coli (UTEC)?
P-fimbrae which is an adhesive pili enables the bacteria to adhere to UT epithelium.
Describe 3 unique features of E. Coli K1 that enable it to cause sepsis and meningitis.
- S fimbrae - adhere to endothelium and choroid plexus (meningitis)
- K1 capsule - Salic acid polymer that doesn’t activate complement (evades immune system)
- Iron-acquisition systems (takes iron from host for survival)
What are 3 types of nosocomial pathogens and how are they significant?
- Enterobacter spp - antibiotic resistance mechanisms
- Klebsiella spp. - encapsulated, MDR, necrotizing pneumonia, thick bloody sputum
- Serration - colonies with red pigment, MDR
* These can rapidly colonize hospital patients and are often more resistant than community-acquired strains.*
This is a Gram-negative rod bacteria that presents in a patient as: watery Traveler’s diarrhea, heat-labile toxin (~like cholera toxin) and heat-stable toxin (~stimulates cGMP).
Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)
This is a Gram-negative rod bacteria that presents in a patient as: blood diarrhea, low platelet count and O157:H7 antigen found in undercooked meats.
Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC or EHEC)
This is a Gram-negative rod species that adheres to enterocytes and uses Type III secretion system to rearrange the cytoskeleton to create a cupped pedestal for the bacterium.
Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC)
List at least 3 facts about E. Coli that cause diarrhea.
- Ferment lactose (appear pink on MacConkey agar)
- Catalase positive
- Fimbriae make it the # 1 cause of UTI and Gram-negative sepsis.
This bacteria is comma-shaped, acid-labels, oxidase positive, causes rice-water diarrhea and secretes a toxin that increases cAMP levels. What is it and how is it treated?
Vibrio cholerae secretes cholera toxin that increases Adenylase cyclase, cAMP, Cl- efflux and creates a water gradient. It is treated with Oral Rehydration Therapy, tetracycline/ampicillin antibiotics.
This type of Gram-negative bacterium penetrate enterocytes, induces apoptosis in macrophages via Type III system and causes “non-bloody diarrhea”.
Non-typhoidal Salmonella
This gram-negative bacterium has a curved, Gullwing morphology, secretes cytotoxin, and cross-reaction of its proteins can mount an immune response on CNS proteins.
Campylobacter jejuni
