Distribution of uropathogenic virulence genes in Escherichia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infection

Summary Background Escherichia coli is the predominant pathogen causing urinary tract infection (UTI), the most common bacterial infectious disease encountered in clinical practice, accounting for significant morbidity and high medical costs. The severity of UTI produced by E. coli is due to the exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of infectious diseases 2013-06, Vol.17 (6), p.e450-e453
Main Authors: Tarchouna, Mouna, Ferjani, Asma, Ben-Selma, Walid, Boukadida, Jalel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Child
Child, Preschool
Cystitis - microbiology
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli - genetics
Escherichia coli - isolation & purification
Escherichia coli - pathogenicity
Escherichia coli Infections - microbiology
Escherichia coli Proteins - genetics
Female
Humans
Infant
Infectious Disease
Male
Middle Aged
Operon
Pulmonary/Respiratory
Pyelonephritis - microbiology
Urinary tract infections
Urinary Tract Infections - microbiology
Virulence - genetics
Virulence genes
Young Adult
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Summary:Summary Background Escherichia coli is the predominant pathogen causing urinary tract infection (UTI), the most common bacterial infectious disease encountered in clinical practice, accounting for significant morbidity and high medical costs. The severity of UTI produced by E. coli is due to the expression of a wide spectrum of virulence factors. In this study we evaluated the role of E. coli virulence determinants in the pathogenesis of UTI. Methods A total of 90 uropathogenic E. coli strains were screened by PCR for the prevalence of seven virulence genes encoding type 1 fimbriae ( fimH ), pili associated with pyelonephritis ( pap ), S and F1C fimbriae ( sfa and foc ), afimbrial adhesins ( afa ), cytotoxic necrotizing factor ( cnf ), hemolysin ( hly ), and aerobactin ( aer ). Results The prevalence of genes coding for fimbrial adhesive systems was 68% for fimH , 41% for pap , and 34% for sfa/foc . The operons coding for afa afimbrial adhesins were identified in 20% of strains. The hly and cnf genes coding for toxins were amplified in 19% and 3% of strains, respectively. A prevalence of 52% was found for the aer gene. The various combinations of detected genes were designated as virulence patterns. The strains isolated from hospitalized patients displayed a great diversity of gene associations compared to those isolated from ambulatory patients. Conclusions Our study showed that investigation of the bacterial pathogenicity associated with UTI may contribute to a better medical intervention.
ISSN:1201-9712
1878-3511
DOI:10.1016/j.ijid.2013.01.025