Tir (translocated intimin receptor) is an essential component in the adherence of the enteropathogenic ''

Escherichia coli ''Escherichia coli'' ( )Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. is a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Escherichia'' that is commonly fo ...

'' (EPEC) and

enterohemorrhagic Shigatoxigenic ''Escherichia coli'' (STEC) and verotoxigenic ''E. coli'' (VTEC) are strains of the bacterium ''Escherichia coli'' that produce Shiga toxin (or verotoxin). Only a minority of the strains cause illness in humans. The ones that do ...

'' (EHEC) to the cells lining the

small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ (anatomy), organ in the human gastrointestinal tract, gastrointestinal tract where most of the #Absorption, absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intes ...

. To aid attachment, both EPEC and EHEC possess the ability to reorganise the host cell

actin cytoskeleton Microfilaments, also called actin filaments, are protein filaments in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells that form part of the cytoskeleton. They are primarily composed of polymers of actin, but are modified by and interact with numerous other pr ...

via the secretion of

virulence factor Virulence factors (preferably known as pathogenicity factors or effectors in botany) are cellular structures, molecules and regulatory systems that enable microbial pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa) to achieve the following: * c ...

s. These factors are secreted directly into the cells using a

Type three secretion system The type III secretion system (T3SS or TTSS) is one of the bacterial secretion systems used by bacteria to secretion, secrete their Bacterial effector protein, effector proteins into the host's cells to promote virulence and Colonisation (biology ...

. One of the virulence factors secreted is the Translocated Intimin Receptor (Tir). Tir is a receptor protein encoded by the ''espE'' gene which is located on the locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE)

pathogenicity island Pathogenicity islands (PAIs), as termed in 1990, are a distinct class of genomic islands acquired by microorganisms through horizontal gene transfer. Pathogenicity islands are found in both animal and plant pathogens. Additionally, PAIs are found i ...

in EPEC strains. It is secreted into the host cell membranes and acts as a receptor for intimin which is found on the bacterial surface. Once Tir binds intimin, the bacterium is attached to the

enterocyte Enterocytes, or intestinal absorptive cells, are simple columnar epithelial cells which line the inner surface of the small and large intestines. A glycocalyx surface coat contains digestive enzymes. Microvilli on the apical surface increase ...

surface. Tir is also a

receptor tyrosine kinase Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are the high-affinity cell surface receptors for many polypeptide growth factors, cytokines, and hormones. Of the 90 unique tyrosine kinase genes identified in the human genome, 58 encode receptor tyrosine kinas ...

(RTK) that initiates its intimate adherence by inserting a hairpin orientation in the intestinal cell membrane to enable tight binding to intimin on the bacterial cell outer membrane. Upon phosphorylation, Tir activates condensation and polymerization of

actin Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of ...

filaments under the bacterial cell to form a pedestal-like structure.

References

{{Portal bar, Biology, border=no Enterobacteria Tyrosine kinase receptors