• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.495-502
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• 2004

Intimin, the product of eae gene in EHEC O157:H7, is required for intimate adherence. In this study, the C-terminaI region(281 amino acids) of the EHEC OI57:H7 intimin were expressed as a protein fusion with (His)$_6$ which was used to raise antiserum in rabbits. The antiserum reacted in western blot with a 94kDa outer membrane protein of EHEC O157:H7. It was observed that the antibody titers both in egg yolk and serum appeared in 2${\sim}$4 weeks after immunization with fusion protein. At the time of 8 weeks, the titre of egg yolk was found to be higher than that of sera. According to the results of neutralization test, chicken egg-yolk antibody(lgY) against the recombinant intimin strongly reacted to EHEC O157:H7. We conclude that a truncated recombinant intimin could be used as an immunogen to elicit antibody(lgY) against O157:H7.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.107-113
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• 2002

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains of serotype O157:H7 have been shown to colonize the intestinal epithelial cell by the attaching and effacing (AE) mechanism. The AE lesion is mediated by an intimin, of which production and expression are controlled by a 3-Kb eaeA gene located EHEC chromosomal DNA. If the eaeA gene is mutated, EHEC O157:H7 strains lose capacity of adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells. In this study, a 891 bp of the 3'-end region of a gamma intimin was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR product was inserted into pSTBlue-1 cloning vector and transformed into DE3 (BL21) competent cell. After plasmid mini-preparation and restriction enzyme digestion of eaeA/891-pSTBlue-1 vector, target eaeA gene was re-inserted into pET-28a expression vector and was transformed. Then the expression of recombinant eaeA/891 (891 bp) gene was induced by isopropyl-$\beta$-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The expression of the 40-KDa recombinant protein was identified in SDS-PAGE and confirmed by immunoblotting using the His.Tag$^{\circledR}$ and T$_{7}$.Tag$^{\circledR}$ monoclonal antibody. This recombinant protein expressed by eaeA gene could be applied in further studies on the mechanisms of E. coli O157:H7 infection and the development of recombinant vaccine.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.93-98
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• 2000

Nine hundred patients diagnosed with diarrhea or hemorrhagic uremic syndrome in the Kyungpook Province, Korea, were examined from November 1998 to February 2000. One patient in Kumi appeared to possess the Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain, which is very important in clinical decision making and public health action. The isolated strain, an E. coli O157:H7 KM, contained a 60 MDa plasmid and typical virulence genes including the verotoxin 2 gene, ehxA gene (encoding enterohemorrhagic hemolysin), and eae (encoding attaching and effacing protein-intimin) gene. This strain produced only verotoxin 2. Pulsed field gel electrophoretic analysis showed that the genomic organization of the E. coli O157:H7 KM strain may differ greatly from those of representative strains previously reported in the United States and Japan.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1460-1466
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• 2015

In this study, the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) was investigated among raw meat or meat products from slaughterhouses and retail markets in South Korea, and their potential for antibiotic resistance and virulence was further analyzed. A total of 912 raw meats, including beef, pork, and chicken, were collected from 2008 to 2009. E. coli strains were frequently isolated in chicken meats (176/233, 75.9%), beef (102/217, 42.3%), and pork (109/235, 39.2%). Putative STEC isolates were further categorized, based on the presence or absence of the Shiga toxin (stx) genes, followed by standard O-serotyping. Polymerase chain reaction assays were used to detect the previously defined virulence genes in STEC, including Shiga toxins 1 and Shiga toxin 2 (stx1 and 2), enterohemolysin (ehxA), intimin (eaeA), STEC autoagglutination adhesion (saa), and subtilase cytotoxin (subAB). All carried both stx1 and eae genes, but none of them had the stx2, saa, or subAB genes. Six (50.0%) STEC isolates possessed the ehxA gene, which is known to be encoded by the 60-megadalton virulence plasmid. Our antibiogram profiling demonstrated that some STEC strains, particularly pork and chicken isolates, displayed a multiple drug-resistance phenotype. RPLA analysis revealed that all the stx1-positive STEC isolates produced Stx1 only at the undetectable level. Altogether, these results imply that the locus of enterocyte and effacement (LEE)-positive strains STEC are predominant among raw meats or meat products from slaughterhouses or retail markets in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.135-142
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• 2006

Shiga toxin (stx) producing Escherichia coli (STEC) causes various clinical signs in animal and human. In this study, 255 fecal samples from calves showing diarrhea were collected from cattle farms in Chonnam province during the period from January 2005 to July 2005. Twenty six STEC (10%) were isolated from 255 fecal samples by PCR. The isolates displayed three different stx combinations (stx1 [69%], stx1 and stx2 [15%], and stx2 [38%]). The isolates were further studied for virulence associated genes and antimicrobial resistance to define the virulence properties. Intimin (eaeA), enterohemolysin (hlyA), and lipopolysaccharide (rfbE) virulence genes were detected in 6 (23%), 7 (26%), and 1 (3.8%) of the isolates, respectively, by PCR. One isolate possessing rfbE gene was typed as E. coli 0157 : H7 by agglutination test with O and H antisera. All 26 isolates showed susceptibility to amikacin (100%) and the majority of isolates showed high susceptibility to gentamicin (88.5%) and chloramphenicol (73.1%). But all isolates were resistant to penicillin. These results may provide the basic knowledge to establish strategies for the treatment and prevention of enteric disease in calves.