Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli O103 from rabbit elicits actin stress fibers and focal adhesions in HeLa epithelial cells, cytopathic effects that are linked to an analog of the locus of enterocyte effacement

Escherichia coli O103, a major agent of weaned-rabbit diarrhea in Western Europe, was previously shown to produce diarrhea and attaching-and-effacing intestinal lesions in experimentally infected rabbits and to possess a homolog of the eaeA gene of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC). In the present study, we have shown that although negative in the fluorescent-actin staining test on HeLa cells, prototype rabbit E. coli O103 strain B10 was able to induce an original cytopathic effect (CPE) in the same interaction model. This CPE was characterized by a generalized reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and the formation of focal adhesions on the entire surface of the target cells. These effect…