Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24348251›Full record

ArticlePLoS pathogens2013

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli hemolysin employs outer membrane vesicles to target mitochondria and cause endothelial and epithelial apoptosis.

Martina Bielaszewska, Christian Rüter, Lisa Kunsmann, Lilo Greune, Andreas Bauwens, Wenlan Zhang, Thorsten Kuczius, Kwang Sik Kim, Alexander Mellmann, M Alexander Schmidt and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS pathogens, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 117 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
117citing papers in PubMed
8.8field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

117 citing papers in PubMed, 203 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Effect of gut bacterial extracellular vesicles on angiogenic potential and vascular integrity: positive and negative aspects.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
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  6. Characterization ofIranian journal of microbiology · 2025
    Article
  7. Review
  8. EnterohemorrhagicFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Antimicrobial Resistance and Pathotypes ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024
    Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Extracellular Vesicles fromJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024
    Article
  20. Article

57 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Martina BielaszewskaInstitute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Christian RüterInstitute of Infectiology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation (ZMBE), University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Lisa KunsmannInstitute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Lilo GreuneInstitute of Infectiology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation (ZMBE), University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Andreas BauwensInstitute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Wenlan ZhangInstitute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Thorsten KucziusInstitute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Kwang Sik KimDivision of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America.
Alexander MellmannInstitute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
M Alexander SchmidtInstitute of Infectiology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation (ZMBE), University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
Helge KarchInstitute of Hygiene, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.
University of Münster · DEJohns Hopkins University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains cause diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome resulting from toxin-mediated microvascular endothelial injury. EHEC hemolysin (EHEC-Hly), a member of the RTX (repeats-in-toxin) family, is an EHEC virulence factor of increasingly recognized importance. The toxin exists as free EHEC-Hly and as EHEC-Hly associated with outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) released by EHEC during growth. Whereas the free toxin is lytic towards human endothelium, the biological effects of the OMV-associated EHEC-Hly on microvascular endothelial and intestinal epithelial cells, which are the major targets during EHEC infection, are unknown. Using microscopic, biochemical, flow cytometry and functional analyses of human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) and Caco-2 cells we demonstrate that OMV-associated EHEC-Hly does not lyse the target cells but triggers their apoptosis. The OMV-associated toxin is internalized by HBMEC and Caco-2 cells via dynamin-dependent endocytosis of OMVs and trafficked with OMVs into endo-lysosomal compartments. Upon endosome acidification and subsequent pH drop, EHEC-Hly is separated from OMVs, escapes from the lysosomes, most probably via its pore-forming activity, and targets mitochondria. This results in decrease of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential and translocation of cytochrome c to the cytosol, indicating EHEC-Hly-mediated permeabilization of the mitochondrial membranes. Subsequent activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 leads to apoptotic cell death as evidenced by DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation in the intoxicated cells. The ability of OMV-associated EHEC-Hly to trigger the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway in human microvascular endothelial and intestinal epithelial cells indicates a novel mechanism of EHEC-Hly involvement in the pathogenesis of EHEC diseases. The OMV-mediated intracellular delivery represents a newly recognized mechanism for a bacterial toxin to enter host cells in order to target mitochondria.

Indexed as

ApoptosisCaco-2 CellsCell MembraneCells, CulturedEndothelial CellsEnterohemorrhagic Escherichia coliHemolysin ProteinsHemolytic-Uremic SyndromeHumansMitochondriaMolecular Sequence DataSecretory VesiclesVirulence FactorsHemolysin ProteinsVirulence Factors

Identifiers

PMID24348251
PMCPMC3861543
OpenAlexW1989555999

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.