Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli
Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) is a type of pathogenic bacteria whose infection causes a syndrome that is identical to shigellosis, with profuse diarrhea and high fever. EIEC are highly invasive, and they use adhesin proteins to bind to and enter intestinal cells. They produce no toxins, but severely damage the intestinal wall through mechanical cell destruction. EIEC are closely related to Shigella, like all E. coli are. Their similarity in disease phenotype come from a homologous large virulence plasmid pINV. They also have in common in their loss of cadaverine synthesis, of ompT, and of curli formation. These features are probably acquired independently, as the two lost cadaverine synthesis in different ways. Moreover, the "EIEC" does not form a monophyletic group in E. coli. After the E. coli strain penetrates through the epithelial wall, the endocytosis vacuole gets lysed, the strain multiplies using the host cell machinery, and extends to the adjacent epithelial cell. In addition, the plasmid of the strain carries genes for a type III secretion system that is used as the virulent factor. Although it is an invasive disease, the invasion usually does not pass the submucosal layer. The similar pathology to shigellosis may be because both