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Significance Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is a significant cause of diarrhea among children in lower income countries. A defining feature of EPEC infection is the formation of attaching and effacing… Click to show full abstract
Significance Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is a significant cause of diarrhea among children in lower income countries. A defining feature of EPEC infection is the formation of attaching and effacing lesions on enterocytes that are characterized by the localized destruction of intestinal microvilli, intimate attachment of the bacteria to the host cell surface, and focusing of filamentous actin beneath the adherent bacteria. Here, we report that the EPEC effector kinases NleH1 and NleH2 specifically phosphorylate a novel residue, Ser775, in the microvillus protein Eps8. Eps8 is an actin bundling protein located at the tips of microvilli that determines microvillus structure and growth. Our biochemical and structural studies showed that NleH1 and NleH2 target the bundling activity of Eps8 during infection.
Journal Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Year Published: 2022
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