Interactions between Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Gut Commensals at the Interface of Human Colonoids
Fernando H. Martins, Anubama Rajan, Hannah Carter, Hamid Baniasadi, Anthony W. Maresso, Vanessa Sperandio
Abstract
Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) is a natural human pathogen that poorly colonizes mice. Hence, the use of murine models to understand features of EHEC infection is a challenge. In this study, we use human colonoids as a physiologically relevant model to study interactions between EHEC and gut commensals. We demonstrate that the ability of EHEC to form AE lesions on the intestinal epithelium is enhanced by the presence of certain gut commensals, such as B. thetaiotaomicron and E. faecalis, while it is not affected by commensal E. coli. Furthermore, we show that commensal bacteria differently impact the metabolic landscape. These data suggest that microbiota compositions can differentially modulate EHEC-mediated disease.