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Vaginal Escherichia coli share common virulence factor profiles, serotypes and phylogeny with other extraintestinal E. coli

Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine¹ and Department of Infection Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences², University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8575, Japan
Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health, OSaka, 537-0025, Japan²

Author for correspondence: William Ba-Thein. Tel: +81 298 53 3354. Fax: +81 298 53 3354. e-mail: bathein{at}md.tsukuba.ac.jp

Characteristics of Escherichia coli residing in the vagina and their role in extraintestinal infections are largely unknown. In this study, 88 vaginal E. coli (VEC) isolates from Japanese women were characterized by extraintestinal virulence factor (VF) profiling, O:H serotyping and phylogenetic analysis. The prevalence of papC, hlyA, cnfI, PAI, ibeA and K1 antigen among the VEC strains were 45, 22, 19, 78, 32 and 44%, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis identified 76, 16 and 8% of the VEC strains in groups B2, D and A, respectively. The VEC strains were distributed into 31 serotypes, including 8 common serotypes (O1:K1:H1, O1:K1:H7, O2:K1:H7, O4:H5, O6:H1, O18ac:K1:H7, O25:H1 and O75:HNM) that were identified in three or more isolates. Comparative analysis with 61 stool isolates from healthy Japanese men and women, and with data from previous studies, revealed that, although some geographical specificities do exist, the VEC strains shared common VF profiles, O:K:H serotypes and phylogeny with uropathogenic E. coli and E. coli of neonatal septicaemia and meningitis. This study provides additional evidence for a link among extraintestinal E. coli, supporting the concept that the VEC are a reservoir along the ‘faecal–vaginal–urinary/neonatal’ course of transmission in the extraintestinal E. coli infections.

Keywords: vagina, Escherichia coli, extraintestinal virulence factors, phylogenetic grouping, O:K:H antigens

Abbreviations: CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; HNM, H non-motile; MLEE, multilocus enzyme electrophoresis; NMEC, neonatal meningitis E. coli; PAI, pathogenicity-associated island marker; UPEC, uropathogenic E. coli; VEC, vaginal E. coli; VF, virulence factor

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