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The complex interplay among bacterial motility and virulence factors in different Escherichia coli infections

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Abstract

Motility mediated by the flagella of Escherichia coli is important for the bacteria to move toward host cells. Here, we present the relationship among bacterial motility, virulence factors, antimicrobial susceptibility, and types of infection. A total of 231 clinical E. coli isolates from different infections were collected and analyzed. Higher-motility strains (motility diameter ≥6.6 mm) were more common in spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) (SBP 59 %, colonization 32 %, urinary tract infection 16 %, urosepsis 34 %, and biliary tract infection 29 %; p < 0.0001). Compared with the higher-motility group, there was a higher prevalence of afa and ompT genes (p = 0.0160 and p = 0.0497, respectively) in E. coli strains with lower motility. E. coli isolates with higher and lower motility were in different phylogenetic groups (p = 0.018), with a lower prevalence of A and B1 subgroups in higher-motility strains. Also, the patterns of virulence factors and antibiotic susceptibility of E. coli isolates derived from various infections were significantly different. This study demonstrates that the prevalence of higher-motility strains was greater in E. coli isolates from SBP compared to other types of infection. Various types of E. coli infection were associated with differences in bacterial motility, virulence factors, and antibiotic susceptibility. More bacterial virulence factors may be necessary for the development of extraintestinal infections caused by E. coli isolates with lower motility.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Robert Jonas for the helpful comments on this manuscript. This study was supported, in part, by grants NSC 99-2314-B-006-017-MY3 from the National Science Council and NCKUH-10006001 from the National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan.

Conflict of interest

No conflict of interest declared.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    C. Y. Kao

  2. Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    W. H. Lin

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    W. H. Lin, C. C. Tseng, A. B. Wu & M. C. Wang

  4. Institute of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

    M. C. Wang

  5. Department of Medical Laboratory Science and Biotechnology, Infectious Disease and Signaling Research Center, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1 University Road, 70101, Tainan, Taiwan

    J. J. Wu

Authors
  1. C. Y. Kao
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  2. W. H. Lin
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  3. C. C. Tseng
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  4. A. B. Wu
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  5. M. C. Wang
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  6. J. J. Wu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. J. Wu.

Additional information

C. Y. Kao and W. H. Lin contributed equally to the article.

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Kao, C.Y., Lin, W.H., Tseng, C.C. et al. The complex interplay among bacterial motility and virulence factors in different Escherichia coli infections. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 33, 2157–2162 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2171-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-014-2171-2

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