Host species-specific translocation of Escherichia coli

Host species-specific translocation of Escherichia coli

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the rate of translocation of Escherichia coli strains in different experimental/animal models. Four proficient translocating
E. coli strains isolated from mesenteric lymph nodes
(MLNs) and/or the blood of rats (strains KIC-1 and KIC-
2), from a fatal case of pancreatitis (HMLN-1) and from
pigs (PC-1 isolated in this study) were tested for their
ability to translocate across two host species and the Caco-2 cell line as a model of the human gut epithelium. HMLN-1 was found in the MLNs of all 15 pigs tested. This strain, however, did not translocate in any rats and only colonised the caecum of four rats in small numbers. HMLN-1 and PC-1 were the dominant translocating strains in Caco-2
cells compared to KIC-1 and KIC-2, which were found to
translocate at a lower rate in pigs and in Caco-2 cells. The
rate of translocation of PC-1 in rats was also very low
compared to KIC-1 and KIC-2. We suggest that, in studies
aiming to investigate the mechanism of translocation of
E. coli strains isolated from humans, rats may not be an
appropriate animal model and that the Caco-2 cells or pigs
are more suitable in vitro and in vivo models, respectively.

© 2009 Springer-Verlag. Awaiting author's version, which may be deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.