Campylobacter acts using complex strategies to establish and promote intestinal infections. After ingestion via contaminated foods, this bacterium invades and can survive within the intestinal cells, also inducing epithelial translocation of non-invasive intestinal bacteria. In this investigation, the ability of human and avian C. jejuni and C. coli isolates to survive within two different intestinal epithelial cells lines, Caco-2 and INT 407, as well as the intestinal translocation phenomenon, was assessed. Our data demonstrated that both C. jejuni and C. coli strains survived in Caco-2 (81.8% and 100% respectively) and INT 407 monolayers (72.7% and 100% respectively) within the first 24 h post-infection period, with a progressive reduction in the prolonged period of 48 h and 72 h post-infection. The translocation of the non-invasive E. coli 60/06 FB was remarkably increased in C. jejuni treated Caco-2 monolayers (2.36 ± 0.42 log cfu/mL) (P < 0.01) and less in those treated with C. coli (1.2 ± 0.34 log cfu/mL), compared to E. coli 60/06 FB alone (0.37 ± 0.14 log cfu/mL). Our results evidenced the ability of both human and avian strains of C. jejuni and C. coli to efficiently survive within intestinal cells and induce the translocation of a non-invasive pathogen. Overall, these findings stress how this pathogen can interact with host cells and support the hypothesis that defects in the intestinal barrier function induced by Campylobacter spp. could have potentially negative implications for human health.
Keywords: Campylobacter spp.; Epithelial translocation; Gut health; Intracellular survival; Virulence.