Communication strategies of E. coli strain Nissle 1917

E. coli strain Nissle 1917 communicates with the intestinal epithelium and the gut microbiota (“cross talk” and “quorum sensing”). Studies showed that this communication involves the regulation of approximately 300 different genes in the enterocytes.22

It was also shown that EcN inhibits the formation and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines within the intestinal epithelium23 and stimulates the body's innate defense by means of an upregulation of ­defensins.24

21) Hacker J, Heesemann J. Molekulare Infektionsbiologie: Interaktionen zwischen Mikroorganismen und Zellen. Berlin: Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, 2000.

22) Cichon C et al. DNA-Microarray-based comparison of cellular responses in polarized T84 epithelial cells triggered by probiotics: E. coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) and Lactobacillus ­aci­dophilus PZ1041. Gastroenterology 2004; 126(4): A-578.

23) Schultz M et al. Preventive effects of Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 on acute and ­chronic intestinal inflammation in two different murine models of colitis. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 2004; 11(2): 372–378.

24) Wehkamp J et al. NF-kappaB- and AP-1-mediated induction of human beta defensin-2 in intestinal epithelial cells by Escherichia coli Nissle 1917: a novel effect of a probiotic bacterium. Infect Immun 2004; 72(10): 5750–5758.

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