Colonization of porcine small intestine by Escherichia coli: ileal colonization and adhesion by pig enteropathogens that lack K88 antigen and by some acapsular mutants

Seven K88 negative porcine enteropathogenic E. coli, representing three different serogroups, caused severe diarrhea and characteristically colonized the ileum, but not the jejunum, of intragastrically exposed newborn pigs. Bacterial counts of intestinal contents and wall, fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy all suggested that these strains colonized the ileum by adhesion to the villous epithelium. However, in ligated intestinal loops, these enteropathogenic E. coli strains adhered to jejunal epithelium as well as to ileal epithelium. Acapsular (K^-) mutants, derived from one of the principal strains, retained their colonizing and adhesive abilities, whereas K- mutants from three other enteropathogenic E. coli strains did not. It is suggested that: (i) these K88 negative enteropathogenic E. coli colonize the ileum by adhesion and (ii) the adhesion of some K88 negative strains is mediated by surface factors other than, or in addition to, the polysaccharide K antigen.