Secretion of flagellin by the LEE-encoded type III secretion system of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

Abstract

Background: Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is an attaching and effacing (A/E) pathogen that possesses a type III secretion system (T3SS) encoded within the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). The LEE is essential for A/E lesion formation and directs the secretion and translocation of multiple LEE-encoded and non-LEE encoded effector proteins into the cytosol of infected cells. In this study we used proteomics to compare proteins exported to the culture supernatant by wild type EPEC E2348/69, a δespADB mutant and a δescF T3SS mutant. Results: We observed that flagellin was consistently and strongly present in the secretome of wild type EPEC and the δespADB mutant but present only ..