Indigenous microbes inside the host intestine maintain a complex self-regulating community. The mechanisms by which gut microbes interact with intestinal pathogens remain largely unknown. Here we identify a commensal Escherichia coli strain whose expansion predisposes mice to infection by Vibrio cholerae, a human pathogen. We refer to this strain as ‘atypical’ E. coli (atEc) because of its inability to ferment lactose. The atEc strain is resistant to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proliferates extensively in antibiotic-treated adult mice. V. cholerae infection is more severe in neonatal mice transplanted with atEc compared with those transplanted with a typical E. coli strain. Intestinal ROS levels are decreased in atEc-transplanted mice, favouring proliferation of ROS-sensitive V. cholerae. An atEc mutant defective in ROS degradation fails to facilitate V. cholerae infection when transplanted, suggesting that host infection susceptibility can be regulated by a single gene product of one particular commensal species.

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Peripheral neuropathy is a dose-limiting toxicity of platinum drugs due to their accumulation in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and damage to sensory neurons. Our previous studies showed a specific pattern of expression of copper transporters in rat DRG tissue (Liu JJ et al 2009; Ip V et al 2010). Here we aimed to investigate their functional activity in the uptake of copper and platinum in cultured DRG neurons in vitro. Dissociated rat DRG neurons were cultured in N2-supplemented Neurobasal-A medium. Cellular metal levels were measured by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The copper content of the cultured DRG neurons increased linearly with time (R2, 0.7952 ∼ 0.8903) during a one hour exposure to 3 ∼ 100 µM of CuCl2. The rate of cellular uptake of copper had nonlinear dependence (R2, 0.9629) on the exposure concentration of CuCl2, with a maximal uptake rate of 0.237 ± 0.041 nmole/min/mg protein and CuCl2 concentration achieving half-maximal uptake of 49.1 µM. The uptake of copper was temperature-dependent, stimulated by ascorbate and inhibited by zinc. CTR1 mRNA was detectable in cultured DRG neurons and its protein co-localised with microtubule-associated protein 2-positive neuronal cell bodies. Oxaliplatin inhibited copper uptake by DRG neurons and their platinum content increased linearly with time (R2, 0.916) during a one hour oxaliplatin exposure. In conclusion, CTR1 is functionally expressed by rat DRG neurons in primary culture. Oxaliplatin accumulates and inhibits copper uptake in DRG neurons. Supported by research grants from Cancer Society of New Zealand and McBeath Child Cancer Trust Fund. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4389. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4389