Transcripts
DR. BRANDT:
So why do -- why do kids get HUS and why is it the kidney that is involved in this blood vessel problem? Why isn't it hemolytic pulmonary syndrome or hemolytic cardiac syndrome? It's hemolytic uremic syndrome, and children get most of these E. coli 0157:H7 infections, and we don't know why that is. It may have to do with Gb3 concentrations in children.
The peak age of E. coli 0157 infection is about one to six years. This corresponds with the peak age of HUS. So part of the reason children get more HUS is that they get more E. coli O157:H7 infections. The other reason has to do with the number of Gb3 receptors for shiga-toxin or verotoxin, the Gb3 receptor. Endothelial cell Gb3 receptor concentrations are highest in the kidney, especially the kidneys of children. So children are probably more susceptible to HUS because they are more susceptible to both E. coli O157:H7 and shiga-toxins. And as we heard this morning, if you have no Gb3, you have no HUS. If you have more Gb3, you have more damage from the toxin.
