Gram-negative bacteria are inherently impermeable to hydrophobic compounds, due to the synergistic activity of the permeability barrier imposed by the outer membrane and energy dependent efflux systems. The gram-negative, enteric pathogen Vibrio cholerae appears to be deficient in both these activities; the outer membrane is not an effective barrier to hydrophobic permeants, presumably due to the presence of exposed phospholipids on the outer leaflet of the outer membrane, and efflux systems are at best only partially active. When V. cholerae was grown in the presence of bile, entry of hydrophobic compounds into the cells was significantly reduced. No difference was detected in the extent of exposed phospholipids on the outer leaflet of the outer membrane between cells grown in the presence or absence of bile. However, in the presence of energy uncouplers, uptake of hydrophobic probes was comparable between cells grown in the presence or absence of bile, indicating that energy-dependent efflux processes may be involved in restricting the entry of hydrophobic permeants into bile grown cells. Indeed, an efflux system(s) is essential for survival of V. cholerae in the presence of bile. Expression of acrAB, encoding an RND family efflux pump, was significantly increased in V. cholerae cells grown in vitro in the presence of bile and also in cells grown in rabbit intestine.Vibrio cholerae, a noninvasive enteric bacterium, is the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cholera. Cholera remains a major cause of human mortality in developing countries, where conditions of poor sanitation, war, famine, and malnourishment contribute to regular episodes of cholera epidemics. For successful infection of its human host, V. cholerae must colonize the small intestine and produce copious amounts of cholera toxin (CT), a potent enterotoxin that causes the massive fluid loss characteristic of the disease. In addition to obvious virulence factors like CT, other toxins, toxin-coregulated pilus, hemolysins, and hemagglutinins (factors essential for survival of the bacteria in vivo and evasion of the host defense system) also contribute to the pathogenecity of V. cholerae (for a review, see references 12 and 24).Enteric pathogens and normal intestinal flora must necessarily survive and colonize the intestine in the presence of bile. Bile salts are surface-active, amphipathic compounds with pronounced detergent-like activity that can cause disaggregation of the lipid bilayer structure of cellular membranes (11). However, gram-negative enteric bacteria are inherently resistant to bile, partly due to the basic, asymmetric structure of their outer membranes (OMs). Although the inner surface of the OM contains phospholipids, a characteristic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is present on the outer leaflet that significantly retards diffusion of hydrophobic compounds across the OM. The OM thus functions as an effective permeability barrier and gives protection to enteric bacteria from potentially noxious agents present in the intestine, particula...