To separately validate that Wnt5A aided actin assembly is intrinsically associated with the outcome of infections with pathogenic and non-pathogenic E. coli we examined if the effect of these bacterial infections can be altered through the application of actin assembly inhibitors, which block activation of Arp2/3 complex and Rac1, thereby inhibiting actin nucleation and branching (46, 47). Here, RAC1 is linked to infection.