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Infection and Immunity, December 2000, p. 7190-7194, Vol. 68, No. 12
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Inducible Expression of Enterococcus
faecalis Aggregation Substance Surface Protein Facilitates
Bacterial Internalization by Cultured Enterocytes
Carol L.
Wells,1,2,*
Elizabeth A.
Moore,1
Julie A.
Hoag,1
Helmut
Hirt,3
Gary M.
Dunny,3 and
Stanley L.
Erlandsen4
Departments of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology,1
Surgery,2
Microbiology,3 and Genetics,
Cell Biology & Development,4 University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0374
Received 21 April 2000/Returned for modification 12 June
2000/Accepted 15 September 2000
Aggregation substance (AS) is an Enterococcus faecalis
surface protein that may contribute to virulence. Using a recently described system for controlled expression of AS in E. faecalis and the heterologous host Lactococcus
lactis, experiments were designed to assess the effect of AS on
bacterial internalization by HT-29 and Caco-2 enterocytes. AS
expression was associated with increased internalization of E. faecalis by HT-29 enterocytes and of L. lactis by
HT-29 and Caco-2 enterocytes. Compared to enterocytes cultivated under
standard conditions, either cultivation in hypoxia or 1-h pretreatment
of enterocytes with calcium-free medium resulted in increased
internalization of both E. faecalis and L. lactis (with and without AS expression). Also, AS expression augmented these increases when E. faecalis was incubated
with pretreated HT-29 enterocytes and when L. lactis was
incubated with pretreated Caco-2 and HT-29 enterocytes. These data
indicated that AS might facilitate E. faecalis
internalization by cultured enterocytes.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Box 609, Mayo Building, 420 Delaware St., S.E., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455-0385. Phone:
(612) 625-5951. Fax: (612) 625-5622. E-mail:
wells002{at}tc.umn.edu.
Infection and Immunity, December 2000, p. 7190-7194, Vol. 68, No. 12
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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