Effect of human milk on type 1 and P-fimbrial mRNA expression in intestinal Escherichia coli strains

Abstract

Aims: Escherichia coli from breastfed infants express more type 1 fimbriae and less P fimbriae than E. coli from bottle-fed infants. In this study we investigated the effect of human milk on production of mRNA for fimA (type 1 fimbriae) and papC (P fimbriae) in E. coli. Methods and Results: Production of adhesin gene mRNA was estimated using a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in E. coli strains under different culture conditions. More type 1 fimbrial mRNA was produced after culture in human milk (P ¼ 0AE001) or Luria broth (P ¼ 0AE014) than after culture on agar, whereas P-fimbrial mRNA production was similar under all tested growth conditions. When cultured on agar, E. coli strains carrying both the fim and pap operons produced less type 1 and P-fimbrial mRNA than strains that had only the fim or pap operons, respectively (P ¼ 0AE03 and 0AE056). Significance and Impact of the Study: Environmental regulation of adhesin expression may be influenced by cross-talk between fimbrial operons.

Session 1: Feeding and infant development Breast-feeding and immune function

“…via the production of bacterial adhesins, which help the bacteria to attach to the mucosa and remain and multiply in the infant's gut. This process has been demonstrated in a recent study for certain non-pathogenic E. coli (Nowrouzian et al 2005).…”

Καμπύλες Ανάπτυξης Για Παιδιά Που Θηλάζουν

“…Ο θηλασµός επηρεάζει τη διαδικασία του αποικισµού µε ωφέλιµους µικροοργανισµούς, καθώς το γάλα διευκολύνει την ανάπτυξη λακτοβάκιλλων (Ahrne et al, 2005). Επίσης, προωθεί την παραγωγή συγκολλητινών για την E.coli, καθιστώντας την λιγότερο επιθετική (Nowrouzian et al, 2005).…”