Adherence of environmental Arcobacter butzleri and Vibrio spp. isolates to epithelial cells in vitro

The objective of this study was to explore the ability of environmental Arcobacter butzleri and Vibrio spp. strains to adhere and induce cytotoxicity in cultured epithelial cells. A total of 27 of marine environment isolates, 17 A. butzleri and 10 Vibrio spp., were tested individually for the adhesive capacity to HEp-2 and HeLa line cells. Next, the ability of these strains to secrete toxic factors capable of producing morphological changes on Vero cells, was tested. Only six out of 17 of the A. butzleri strains were able to adhere to both cell lines. 57% of the V. alginolyticus strains were able to adhere to HEp-2 and HeLa cell lines. None of the Vibrio strains produced toxic factors. However, five out of the six of the A. butzleri strains that were shown to adhere both cell lines, also secreted toxic factors. It is apparent from this study that toxigenic and adhesive strains of A. butzleri can be isolated from aquatic environments in Messina (Italy).