Attachment of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli to human intestinal cells.

An adherence test was developed with human ileal cells isolated from patients with a long-standing ileostomy by saline lavage through the stoma. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from humans bound to the human ileal cells to a greater extent (1.2 x 10(6) bacteria bound) than did control E. coli strains, including K99 pili antigen-producing strains (whether originally isolated from pigs or calves), the rabbit pathogen RDEC-1, the laboratory-derived nontoxigenic strain 334LL, or human normal fecal strains. However, K88 strains, either K88ab or K88ac, bound to the human ileal cells as well as did enterotoxigenic E. coli. Ileal cells isolated from two donors with different blood types behaved similarly. These cells remained viable and retained their binding ability for at least 3 days when stored in tissue culture medium at 4 degrees C.