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Updated: Nov 14, 2025

Enteric Bacterial Invasion Of Intestinal Epithelial Cells In Vitro Is Dramatically Enhanced Using a Vertical Diffusion Chamber Model
Published on: October 22, 2013
Determining Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Interactions with Human Intestinal Epithelium in a Microaerobic
Conor J McGrath1, Stephanie Schüller2
1Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.
Abstract:
The environment in the human intestine is low in oxygen. This affects virulence gene expression of enteropathogens including Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and enables mucosal colonization by oxygen-sensitive commensal bacteria. To simulate the oxygen-restricted milieu at the intestinal epithelium, we have developed a vertical diffusion chamber model (VDC) which allows infection of polarized human intestinal epithelia under microaerobic conditions. In this chapter, we present a detailed protocol for performing STEC infections in the VDC system and subsequent analysis of STEC pathogenesis.

