Designations F18ab and F18ac for the related fimbrial types F107, 2134P and 8813 of Escherichia coli isolated from porcine postweaning diarrhoea and from oedema disease

doi:10.1016/0378-1135(94)00141-I

Veterinary Microbiology

Volume 45, Issue 4, August 1995, Pages 281-295

https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-1135(94)00141-I Get rights and content

Abstract

The relatedness of the fimbriae produced by eight E. coli strains including type strains with F107 fimbriae, 2134P pili and colonization factor 8813 (preliminary F18), was examined. These strains had been isolated principally from pigs which were affected with postweaning diarrhoea or with oedema disease. The fimbriae were analyzed by means of electron microscopy, slide agglutination, immunofluorescence, immunogold labelling, immuno-diffusion, immunoelectrophoresis and western blot, molecular genetic techniques, and in vitro adhesion. The fimbriae of all the strains were long flexible filaments with a diameter not larger than 4.6 nm showing a zig-zag pattern. Results obtained by the serological techniques confirmed that the fimbriae possessed a common antigenic determinant designated ‘a’ in addition to a variant-specific determinant designated ‘b’ or ‘c’. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that the determinants ‘a’ and ‘b’ or ‘a’ and ‘c’ were localized along the same fimbrium. In immunoelectrophoresis, fimbrial extracts of selected strains yielded a single precipitation line towards the cathode. One single major subunit of approximately 15 kDa was recognised in western blots by antisera against the common antigenic determinant and the variant specific determinants. All strains possessed sequences related to gene fedA, coding for the major subunit of fimbriae F107. Two types of fedA-related subunit genes were differentiated, corresponding to the ‘ab’ and ‘ac’ types of fimbriae as defined by serological methods. The results demonstrated that F107 fimbriae, 2134P pili and colonization factor 8813 are related, and that two serological variants can be distinguished. We propose designations F18ab (for F107), and F18ac (for 2134P and 8813) in analogy to the nomenclature of F4 fimbriae.

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We investigated ETEC diarrhea development in CHCF1 heterozygous susceptible (RS) (n = 12 pigs) compared to CHCF1 homozygous resistant (RR) (n = 12 pigs) for six days after ETEC F4ab challenge. Afterwards, we genotyped with MUC4 and MUC13 markers to relate performance in identifying ETEC F4ab diarrhea susceptible pigs.
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Citation Excerpt :
The post weaning diarrhoea (PWD) is widely diffused in pigs resulting in an increase of animals’ mortality and morbidity, slow growth and an increase of antibiotic uses and treatment costs. The enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) carrying the adhesive fimbriae F4 and F18 are recognized as the main pathogens associated with PWD in pigs (Luppi, 2017; Rippinger et al., 1995; Xia et al., 2015). These fimbriae allow the ETEC colonization of the intestinal mucosa and mediate the production of enterotoxins that induce an intestinal dysbiosis and secretory diarrhoea (Luppi, 2017; Rippinger et al., 1995; Xia et al., 2015).
F4- and F18-positive enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) are well-known pathogens able to cause a severe swine disease with a worldwide economically importance in pig production. Vaccination of piglets with an oral live bivalent F4/F18 Escherichia coli vaccine has shown some promise and efficacy results in preventing ETEC post weaning diarrhoea (PWD); however, currently, there is a lack of knowledge on its effect on the intestinal microbial community. Furthermore, is not known if the effect of vaccination on gut eubiosis can vary according to pig genetic susceptibility to ETEC F4 and F18. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of an E. coli bivalent vaccine and the potential influence of the host genetic susceptibility to ETEC growth performance and faecal microbial profile of healthy piglets around weaning. A total of 288 healthy piglets at 26 days of age (d0; weaning) were divided into two different groups balanced for body weight: i) vaccine (VAX: 6.33 kg) and control (CO: 6.45 kg). At d0 VAX group was orally inoculated with 2 mL of live non-pathogenic E. coli O8:K87 (F4ac-positive) and O141:K94 (F18ac positive) vaccine (Coliprotec F4/F18; Prevtec Microbia an Elanco Company), while CO was orally inoculated with 2 mL of sterile water. At d0 and 18 days later (d18), piglets were individually weighed, and a faecal sample was collected for microbial profile of V3-V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene using MiSeq Illumina platform. Bristles were collected to determine the genetic ETEC susceptibility by genotyping analysis of MUC4 and FUT1 polymorphisms. No effect of vaccination and genetic susceptibility was observed on growth performance. The vaccination modulated the faecal microbial composition, reducing the alpha diversity indices (P<0.05) and affecting the beta diversity (R²=0.02; P = 0.05). VAX was discriminated from CO by beneficial bacteria genera including Dialister, Prevotella, Blautia, Ruminiclostridium, Parabacteroides and Faecalibacterium. No interaction between vaccination and animal genetic susceptibility to ETEC was observed. F4 resistant genotype showed a higher alpha diversity index than the susceptible ones pre- and post-weaning (P< 0.05). These findings contributed to the body of knowledge regarding the beneficial effect of oral live bivalent F4/F18 E. coli vaccine on piglets’ gut homeostasis resulting in improved gut eubiosis.
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Citation Excerpt :
The F18 fimbriae occur as 2 antigenic variants, F18ab and F18ac, where the “a” is a common antigenic factor, and “b”, “c” are specific factors (Sarrazin and Bertschinger, 1996). Before 1995, F18 fimbriae were designated as F107 (which is now recognized as F18ab), 2134P, or 8813 (which is now recognized as F18ac) (Imberechts et al., 1992, 1994; Rippinger et al., 1995). The F18ab are poorly expressed in vitro and usually found on Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and ETEC, whereas F18ac are easier to be expressed in vitro and usually found on ETEC (Wittig et al., 1995; Nagy et al., 1997).
Gut health of nursery pigs immediately after weaning is tightly associated with their growth performance and economic values. Postweaning diarrhea (PWD) is one of the major concerns related to gut health of nursery pigs which often is caused by infections of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), mainly including F4 (K88)⁺ and F18⁺ E. coli. The main virulence factors of ETEC are adhesins (fimbriae or pili) and enterotoxins. The common types of fimbriae on ETEC from PWD pigs are F18⁺ and F4⁺. Typically, PWD in pigs is associated with both F18⁺ and F4⁺ ETEC infections whereas pre-weaning diarrhea in pigs is associated with F4⁺ ETEC infection. Enterotoxins including heat-labile enterotoxins (LT) and heat-stable peptide toxins (ST) are associated with causing diarrhea in pigs. At least 10⁹ to 10¹⁰ ETEC are required to induce diarrhea in nursery pigs typically lasting 1 to 5 days after ETEC infection. Antibiotics used to be the most effective way to prevent PWD, however, with the increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics, alternatives to the use of antibiotics are urgently needed to prevent PWD. Immunopropylaxis and nutritional intervention of antimicrobial minerals (such as zinc oxide and copper sulfate), organic acids, functional feedstuffs (such as blood plasma and egg yolk antibodies), direct fed microbials, phytobiotics, and bacteriophage can potentially prevent PWD associated with ETEC. Some other feed additives such as nucleotides, feed enzymes, prebiotic oligosaccharides, and clay minerals can enhance intestinal health and thus indirectly help with preventing PWD. Numerous papers show that nutritional intervention using selected feed additives can effectively prevent PWD.
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F4- and F18-positive enterotoxigenic E. coli strains (F4-ETEC and F18-ETEC) are important causes of post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) in pigs. F4 (antigenic variant ac) and F18 (ab and ac) fimbriae are major antigens that play an important role in the early stages of infection. Herein, the efficacy of a live oral vaccine consisting of two non-pathogenic E. coli strains, one F4ac- and one F18ac-positive, was evaluated using F4ac-ETEC and F18ab-ETEC challenge models. A randomized, masked, placebo-controlled, block design, parallel-group confirmatory study with two different vaccination-challenge intervals (7 and 21 days) was conducted for each challenge model. The vaccine was administered in one dose, to ≥18-day-old piglets via drinking water. Efficacy was assessed by evaluating diarrhea, clinical observations, weight gain and fecal shedding of F4-ETEC or F18-ETEC. Anti-F4 and anti-F18 immunoglobulins in blood were measured.
The vaccination resulted in significant reductions in clinical PWD and fecal shedding of F4-ETEC and F18-ETEC after the 7- and 21-day-post-vaccination heterologous challenges, except for after the 21-day-post-vaccination F4-ETEC challenge, when the clinical PWD was too mild to demonstrate efficacy. A significant reduction of mortality and weight loss by vaccination were observed following the F18-ETEC challenge. The 7-day protection was associated with induction of anti-F4 and anti-F18 IgM, whereas the 21-day protection was mainly associated with anti-F4 and anti-F18 IgA. The 7-day onset and 21-day duration of protection induced by this vaccine administered once in drinking water to pigs of at least 18 days of age were confirmed by protection against F4-ETEC and F18-ETEC, and induction of F4 and F18-specific immunity. Cross protection of the vaccine against F18ab-E. coli was demonstrated for both the 7- and 21-day F18-ETEC challenges.
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Citation Excerpt :
For F18, 2 antigenic variants were discovered, namely F18ab and F18ac (Rippinger et al., 1995). In general, post-weaning diarrhoea is caused by the F18ac variant whereas F18ab is more related to oedema disease, although there are exceptions (Hide et al., 1995; Rippinger et al., 1995). In addition to the porcine ETEC strains expressing the classical fimbrial antigens (F4, F5, F6, F7, and F18), a subgroup of porcine ETEC expressing an afimbrial adhesin involved in diffuse adherence (AIDA) was described (Ngeleka et al., 2003).
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) remain an important cause of neonatal and post-weaning diarrhoea in pigs. In general, neonatal infections can be prevented effectively by passive colostral and lactogenic immunity obtained by vaccination of the sow. In this respect, several maternal vaccines are on the market. These are applied mainly parenterally in the pregnant sow. However at weaning, lactogenic protection disappears. Strains involved in post-weaning diarrhoea mostly express F4 or F18 fimbriae. These fimbriae are important virulence factors since they allow the bacteria to bind to specific receptors on small intestinal enterocytes, resulting in colonization and subsequently the secretion of enterotoxins causing diarrhoea.
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DNA sequence analysis of the composite plasmid pTC conferring virulence and antimicrobial resistance for porcine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli
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Citation Excerpt :
STb and F18 are characteristic plasmid-mediated virulence factors of porcine post-weaning ETEC. One prototype strain of F18 fimbria-producing ETEC is Ec2173 (O147:K+, NM, STa, STb, Hy, F18ac) isolated in Hungary from a fatal case of porcine post-weaning diarrhea (PWD) (Nagy et al., 1990; Rippinger et al., 1995). Ec2173 harbours two large virulence plasmids: one (pF18) is approximately 200 kb in size with a RepFIc replicon, coding for F18ac and haemolysin (Fekete et al., 2002; Olasz et al., 2005).
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Designations F18ab and F18ac for the related fimbrial types F107, 2134P and 8813 of Escherichia coli isolated from porcine postweaning diarrhoea and from oedema disease

Abstract

Vet. Microbiol.

Vet. Microbiol.

Vet. Microbiol.

Biochim. Biophys. Acta (Amst.)

Vet. Microbiol.

FEMS Microbiology Letters

Am. J. Clin. Nutr.

Vet. Microbiol.

Zbl. Bakt.

Bacterial colonization and morphology of the intestine in porcine Escherichia coli enterotoxemia (edema disease)

Vet. Pathol.

Adhesive fimbriae expressed only in vivo by Escherichia coli causing edema disease in pigs

Escherichia coli infections

Different pig phenotypes affect adherence of Escherichia coli to jejunal brush borders by K88ab, K88ac, or K88ad antigen

Infect. Immun.

Pathogenicity of porcine enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli that do not express K88, K99, F41, or 987P adhesins

Am. J. Vet. Res.

In vitro adhesion of piliated Escherichia coli to small intestinal villous epithelial cells from rabbits and the identification of a soluble 987P pilus receptor-containing fraction

Infect. Immun.

Identification of Enterobacteriaceae

Improved Minca medium for the detection of K99 antigen in calf enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli

Infect. Immun.