From the Gut to the Brain: Transcriptomic Insights into Neonatal Meningitis Escherichia coli Across Diverse Host Niches

Neonatal meningitis caused by Escherichia coli (NMEC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in newborns, and its pathogenesis relies on the ability of the bacterium to adapt and survive in diverse host environments. Despite advances in neonatal care, significant gaps remain in our understanding of how NMEC reprogram their transcriptome to survive in physiologically relevant niches. This study investigated the transcriptomic profiles of E. coli strain RS218 (O18:H7:K1) in four under host-relevant environment —colonic fluid (CF), serum (S), human brain endothelial cells (HBECs) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)—to mimic the infection landscape of neonatal meningitis. High-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to profile NMEC’s transcriptomic responses in each niche, and differential gene expression analyses were conducted to identify enriched pathways. RNAseq profiling of NMEC strain RS218 incubated in host mimic conditions such as colonic fluid (CF), serum (S), human brain endothelial cells (HBECs) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)