Virulence Factors Predict <i>Escherichia coli</i> Colonization Patterns among Human and Animal Household Members

Murray, Aimee; Kuskowski, Michael A.; Johnson, James R.

doi:10.7326/0003-4819-140-10-200405180-00032

Cited by 44 publications

(47 citation statements)

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“…As in previous studies (6,7,12,31), shared strains were distributed more broadly, caused more infections, and exhibited more uropathogenic traits than did nonshared strains. This indicates that certain E. coli traits and lineages promote both UTI pathogenesis and intestinal colonization (32).…”

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confidence: 54%

Colonization with Escherichia coli Strains among Female Sex Partners of Men with Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

et al. 2015

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fOf 23 unique Escherichia coli strains from 10 men with febrile urinary tract infections (UTIs) and their female sex partners, 6 strains (all UTI causing) were shared between partners. Molecularly, the 6 shared strains appeared more virulent than the 17 nonshared strains, being associated with phylogenetic group B2, sequence types ST73 and ST127, and multiple specific virulence genes. This indicates that UTIs are sometimes sexually transmitted. Escherichia coli is the leading cause of urinary tract infection (UTI), a tremendously common and costly illness (1). Although the causative E. coli strains usually derive from the host's own gastrointestinal microbiota (2, 3), their more proximate reservoirs are poorly understood.Sharing of E. coli strains, whether pathogenic or not, is common among closely associated hosts, including pets and sex partners (4-19). However, strain sharing between a man with an E. coli UTI and his healthy female sexual partner (FSP) has not been reported. We capitalized on a large cohort of men with E. coli febrile UTIs (FUTIs) to assess this phenomenon's frequency and the characteristics of any shared strains.Subjects and specimens. Ten men with community-acquired E. coli FUTI and an FSP who was willing to participate in the study were identified within a larger cohort study of male FUTI at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden, from 1993 to 1996. Men had to have a temperature of Ն 38.0°C, at least one urinary tract-referable symptom or sign (e.g., frequency, dysuria, flank pain, or costovertebral angle tenderness), and Ն10 4 CFU/ml of a uropathogen on urine culture (21,22). Consenting subjects underwent culture surveillance of urine, feces, and (for FSPs) the vagina initially and with any subsequent UTI episode in either partner.Midstream urine samples, collected per protocol, were kept at 4°C until cultured semiquantitatively on blood and cysteine lactose electrolyte-deficient agar. Significant growth was defined as Ն10 4 CFU/ml of E. coli. The last free-lying colony was saved. Men self-collected rectal samples per protocol. One of the authors (P.U.) collected vaginal and rectal samples from FSPs. Swabs were streaked to modified Conradi-Drigalski agar for overnight incubation. The last three free-lying colonies on each plate, plus any morphologically distinct colonies, were picked for analysis; this provided Ն97% sensitivity for detecting the quantitatively predominant clone in rectal samples (23). Confirmed E. coli isolates were stored in agar stabs (24 were assigned based on Ն94% profile similarity to index profiles within a large PFGE database (26).One representative per sample per PFGE type underwent PCRbased major phylogenetic group determination (25). Extended virulence genotypes were determined by multiplex PCR (27-29). Sequence type (ST) and clonal complex (CC; cluster of closely related STs) were determined by PCR (27), fumC-fimH sequence analysis (30), and/or multilocus sequence typing (http: //mlst.warwick.ac.uk).Statistical methods. Comparisons of proportions ...

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confidence: 54%

Colonization with Escherichia coli Strains among Female Sex Partners of Men with Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

et al. 2015

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“…Several cross-sectional surveys have demonstrated similarities among clinical or fecal E. coli isolates from humans, dogs, and cats with respect to genomic background and virulence-associated accessory traits (virulence factors [VFs]), particularly within serogroups O6 and O4, suggesting possible zoonotic (whether animal-to-human or human-to-animal) transmission (3,5,6,9,11,13,15,16,20,26,(30)(31)(32)(33). Consistent with this possibility, in two longitudinal surveillance studies involving the E. coli flora of human household members and their canine or feline pets, pets were found to be intermittently colonized with the same virulent-appearing E. coli clones that colonized multiple humans and caused acute cystitis in the women (8,22).However, these studies examined only modest numbers of isolates and accessory traits and/or relied on somewhat imprecise phylogenetic methods such as multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, outer membrane protein profiling, or random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (3,5,6,8,9,11,13,15,16,20,22,26,(30)(31)(32)(33). Accordingly, they leave uncertainty as to the extent of commonality among human-and pet-derived E. coli isolates.…”

supporting

confidence: 52%

Virulence Genotypes and Phylogenetic Background ofEscherichia coliSerogroup O6 Isolates from Humans, Dogs, and Cats

Johnson¹,

Johnston²,

Clabots³

et al. 2008

J Clin Microbiol

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Molecular evidence is limited for the hypothesis that humans, dogs, and cats can become colonized and infected with similar virulent Escherichia coli strains. To further assess this possibility, archived E. coli O6 isolates (n ‫؍‬ 130) from humans (n ‫؍‬ 55), dogs (n ‫؍‬ 59), and cats (n ‫؍‬ 16), representing the three main H (flagellar) types within serogroup O6 (H1, H7, and H31), were analyzed, along with selected reference strains. Isolates underwent PCR-based phylotyping, multilocus sequence typing, PCR-based detection of 55 virulenceassociated genes, and XbaI pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiling. Three major sequence types (STs), which corresponded closely with H types, accounted for 99% of the 130 O6 isolates. Each ST included human, dog, and cat isolates; two included reference pyelonephritis isolates CFT073 (O6:K2:H1) and 536 (O6:K15:H31). Virulence genotypes overlapped considerably among host species, despite statistically significant differences between human and pet isolates. Several human and dog isolates from ST127 (O6:H31) exhibited identical virulence genotypes and highly similar PFGE profiles, consistent with cross-species exchange of specific E. coli clones. In conclusion, the close similarity in the genomic backbone and virulence genotype between certain human-and animal-source E. coli isolates within serogroup O6 supports the hypothesis of zoonotic potential.Escherichia coli is a major cause of urinary tract infections (UTI) and other extraintestinal infections in humans, dogs, and cats (1,19,25). Several cross-sectional surveys have demonstrated similarities among clinical or fecal E. coli isolates from humans, dogs, and cats with respect to genomic background and virulence-associated accessory traits (virulence factors [VFs]), particularly within serogroups O6 and O4, suggesting possible zoonotic (whether animal-to-human or human-to-animal) transmission (3,5,6,9,11,13,15,16,20,26,(30)(31)(32)(33). Consistent with this possibility, in two longitudinal surveillance studies involving the E. coli flora of human household members and their canine or feline pets, pets were found to be intermittently colonized with the same virulent-appearing E. coli clones that colonized multiple humans and caused acute cystitis in the women (8,22).However, these studies examined only modest numbers of isolates and accessory traits and/or relied on somewhat imprecise phylogenetic methods such as multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, outer membrane protein profiling, or random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis (3,5,6,8,9,11,13,15,16,20,22,26,(30)(31)(32)(33). Accordingly, they leave uncertainty as to the extent of commonality among human-and pet-derived E. coli isolates.To examine more rigorously the question of human-pet commonality with respect to extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) clones, we used contemporary molecular methods to characterize a large collection of archival E. coli isolates of serotypes O6:H1, O6:H7, and O6:H31 from humans, dogs, and cats, obtained from the E. coli Reference Ce...

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“…This represents an interesting counterpoint to previously documented UTI episodes caused in humans by E. coli strains that colonized the family's dog or cat (6,13,24). These findings suggest that UTI may sometimes be a zoonosis in either direction (human to pet or pet to human).…”

mentioning

confidence: 53%

“…In E. coli UTI, the immediate source of the causative strain is usually the host's own fecal flora (4,9,23,30). Household members, including pets, commonly share E. coli clones, suggesting within-household transmission (2,3,5,6,13,24). Although pets sometimes carry ExPEC clones that cause UTI in human household members (6,13,24), the reverse scenario has not been reported.…”

mentioning

confidence: 95%

Multiple-Host Sharing, Long-Term Persistence, and Virulence of Escherichia coli Clones from Human and Animal Household Members

2008

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During a 3-year surveillance, six household members (five humans and the family dog) yielded 14 Escherichia coli clones. Virulence genes, group B2, and having caused cystitis (in the mother or dog) corresponded to colonization endpoints (number of samples, colonies, hosts, and dates). The dog's cystitis clone was the most extensively recovered clone.Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) causes most episodes of urinary tract infection (UTI) in humans, dogs, and cats (9,25,26,32). In E. coli UTI, the immediate source of the causative strain is usually the host's own fecal flora (4,9,23,30). Household members, including pets, commonly share E. coli clones, suggesting within-household transmission (2,3,5,6,13,24). Although pets sometimes carry ExPEC clones that cause UTI in human household members (6, 13, 24), the reverse scenario has not been reported.We investigated this phenomenon in relation to an acute UTI episode involving the pet dog of a household that 2 years previously had been studied around the mother's acute cystitis episode (6). We analyzed fecal E. coli collected from household members at the time of the dog's UTI episode and 1 and 11 months later and then compared newly and previously recovered clones. Subjects and methods. The subjects studied included six cohabiting individuals: a mother (age 53 years), a father (age 52 years), two daughters (both age 15 years), a son (age 13 years), and a dog (6). Fecal samples were submitted concurrent

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Virulence Factors Predict Escherichia coli Colonization Patterns among Human and Animal Household Members

Cited by 44 publications

References 8 publications

Colonization with Escherichia coli Strains among Female Sex Partners of Men with Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

Colonization with Escherichia coli Strains among Female Sex Partners of Men with Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

Virulence Genotypes and Phylogenetic Background ofEscherichia coliSerogroup O6 Isolates from Humans, Dogs, and Cats

Multiple-Host Sharing, Long-Term Persistence, and Virulence of Escherichia coli Clones from Human and Animal Household Members

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