| Grant number: | 12/19077-0 |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |
| Start date: | October 01, 2013 |
| End date: | September 30, 2015 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Biology and Physiology of Microorganisms |
| Principal Investigator: | Rodrigo Tavanelli Hernandes |
| Grantee: | Rodrigo Tavanelli Hernandes |
| Host Institution: | Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil |
| City of the host institution: | Botucatu |
| Associated researchers: | José Maurício Sforcin |
Abstract
Diarrhea is a major public health problem worldwide, accounting for more than two million deaths each year, especially among children under five years of age. Escherichia coli associated with intestinal infections in both children and adults are known as diarrheagenic E. coli and are classified into six distinct pathotypes, considering their virulence mechanisms, the clinical syndromes, serotypes (O:H), the epidemiological aspects and type of interaction with cell lines cultured in vitro. The diarrheagenic E. coli pathotypes are: enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC). Currently, EPEC have been divided into typical and atypical based on the presence of pEAF (with the bfp operon expression) in typical EPEC and its absence in atypical EPEC. Epidemiological studies conducted in different geographical regions of Brazil, on the etiology of diarrheal disease, have demonstrated that atypical EPEC and EAEC pathotypes are among the most frequent agents. Previous studies conducted in Botucatu in the late 90s, also pointed to a high prevalence of EAEC among diarrheal children. However, EAEC and atypical EPEC have been isolated in equal frequency from children with and without diarrhea making the association of these pathotypes of diarrheagenic E. coli as infectious agents of the gastrointestinal tract difficult. The role of atypical EPEC as an important causative agent of gastrointestinal infections can be supported by the involvement of these bacteria in outbreaks of acute diarrhea, affecting not only children but also adults. This observation reinforces the need to explore atypical EPEC isolates looking for virulence markers to identify potentially pathogenic isolates in this heterogeneous population. The main objective of this project includes investigating the prevalence and association of different pathotypes of diarrheagenic E. coli, Shigella e Salmonella among children under 5 years of age in Botucatu with diarrheal disease, as well as phenotypic and molecular characterization of the isolates of diarrheagenic E. coli, especially atypical EPEC currently considered an emerging pathotype both in developed and in developing countries. (AU)
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