Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli infection induces IL-8 production via activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and the transcription factors NF-κB and AP-1 in INT-407 cells

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is emerging as a cause of acute and persistent diarrhea in developing countries. An important feature of EAEC pathogenesis is the induction of profound inflammatory response in the intestinal epithelium. In this article, we have shown that EAEC-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) (ERK-1/2, JNK and p38MAPK) in cultured human intestinal epithelial cells (INT-407) leads to the induction of DNA-binding activity of NF-kappa B and AP-1, resulting in IL-8 production. Plasmid-cured EAEC could also activate the MAPK and the transcription factors leading to IL-8 secretion, but to a lesser extent than that of wild-type EAEC. Further, pretreatment of these cells with the highly specific MEK inhibitor (PD 098059), the JNK inhibitor (SP 600125), and the p38MAPK inhibitor (SB 203580) resulted in inhibition of the IL-8 secretion by EAEC (wild type as well as plasmid cured)-infected INT-407 cells. These findings demonstrate that the inflammatory response induced by EAEC may be due to the specific stimulation of MAPK signaling pathways leading to nuclear responses. To our knowledge, this is the first article regarding the detailed mechanism of IL-8 secretion from the EAEC-infected human intestinal epithelial cell line.