E. coli

dispersal through the intestinal mucosa.

Written byTudor Toma
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) are diarrhoeal pathogens that adhere to the intestinal mucosa in a thick biofilm that may mediate their persistence in the human intestine, but the mechanisms involved in the adhesion have been unclear. In November 1 Journal of Clinical Investigation, Jalaluddin Sheikh and colleagues at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, show that aap encodes a secreted protein that coats the bacterial surface and promotes dispersal of the bacteria on the intestinal mucosa (Journal of Clinical Investigation, 110:1329-1337, November 1, 2002).

Sheikh et al. generated a variety of recombinant E. coli and observed that EAEC aap mutants aggregated more intensely than wild-type cells and formed larger aggregates, but containing fewer individual bacteria. In addition, they showed that the aspU locus — which lies immediately upstream of aggR in EAEC 042 — encodes a secreted low molecular weight protein, named dispersin, that corresponds to ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
Illustration of a developing fetus surrounded by a clear fluid with a subtle yellow tinge, representing amniotic fluid.
January 2026

What Is the Amniotic Fluid Composed of?

The liquid world of fetal development provides a rich source of nutrition and protection tailored to meet the needs of the growing fetus.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Skip the Wait for Protein Stability Data with Aunty

Unchained Labs

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological's Launch of SwiftFluo® TR-FRET Kits Pioneers a New Era in High-Throughout Kinase Inhibitor Screening

SPT Labtech Logo

SPT Labtech enables automated Twist Bioscience NGS library preparation workflows on SPT's firefly platform

nuclera logo

Nuclera eProtein Discovery System installed at leading Universities in Taiwan

Brandtech Logo

BRANDTECH Scientific Introduces the Transferpette® pro Micropipette: A New Twist on Comfort and Control