Altered innate defenses in the neonatal gastrointestinal tract in response to colonization by neuropathogenic escherichia coli

41Citations
Citations of this article
44Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Two-day-old (P2), but not 9-day-old (P9), rat pups are susceptible to systemic infection following gastrointestinal colonization by Escherichia coli K1. Age dependency reflects the capacity of colonizing K1 to translocate from gastrointestinal (GI) tract to blood. A complex GI microbiota developed by P2, showed little variation over P2 to P9, and did not prevent stable K1 colonization. Substantial developmental expression was observed over P2 to P9, including upregulation of genes encoding components of the small intestinal (α-defensins Defa24 and Defa-rs1) and colonic (trefoil factor Tff2) mucus barrier. K1 colonization modulated expression of these peptides: developmental expression of Tff2 was dysregulated in P2 tissues and was accompanied by a decrease in mucin Muc2. Conversely, α-defensin genes were upregulated in P9 tissues. We propose that incomplete development of the mucus barrier during early neonatal life and the capacity of colonizing K1 to interfere with mucus barrier maturation provide opportunities for neuropathogen translocation into the bloodstream. © 2013, American Society for Microbiology.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Birchenough, G. M. H., Johansson, M. E. V., Stabler, R. A., Dalgakiran, F., Hansson, G. C., Wren, B. W., … Taylor, P. W. (2013). Altered innate defenses in the neonatal gastrointestinal tract in response to colonization by neuropathogenic escherichia coli. Infection and Immunity, 81(9), 3264–3275. https://doi.org/10.1128/IAI.00268-13

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free