Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are relatively common in women and may be classified as uncomplicated or complicated, depending upon the urinary tract anatomy and physiology. Acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) occurs when urinary pathogens from the bowel or vagina colonize the periurethral mucosa and reach the bladder. The vast majority of episodes in healthy women involving the same bacterial ...

Bacteria use two-component systems (TCSs) to react appropriately to environmental stimuli. Typical TCSs comprise a sensor histidine kinase that acts as a receptor coupled to a partner response regulator that coordinates changes in bacterial behavior, often through its activity as a transcriptional regulator. TCS interactions are typically confined to cognate pairs of histidine kinases and respo...

Urinary tract infections (UTI), primarily caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), are one of the leading bacterial infections due to their high frequency and rate of recurrence. Both type 1 pilus adhesive organelles (fim) and the QseC sensor kinase have been implicated in UPEC virulence during UTI and have been individually reported to be promising drug targets. Deletion of qseC leads ...

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are capable of occupying physiologically distinct intracellular and extracellular niches within the urinary tract. This feat requires the timely regulation of gene expression and small RNAs (sRNAs) are known to mediate such rapid adjustments in response to changing environmental cues. This study aimed to uncover sRNA-mediated gene regulation in the UPEC str...

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common pathological conditions in both community and hospital settings. It has been estimated that about 150 million people worldwide develop UTI each year, with high social costs in terms of hospitalizations and medical expenses. Among the common uropathogens associated to UTIs development, UroPathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the primary...

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) contain multiple horizontally acquired pathogenicity-associated islands (PAI) implicated in the pathogenesis of urinary tract infection. In a murine model of cystitis, type 1 pili-mediated bladder epithelial invasion and intracellular proliferation are key events associated with UPEC virulence. In this study, we examined the mechanisms by which a conserved ...

Urinary tract infections are most commonly caused by uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli (UPEC), which invade superficial bladder epithelial cells via a type 1 pilus-dependent mechanism. Inside these epithelial cells, UPEC organisms multiply to high numbers to form intracellular bacterial communities, allowing them to avoid immune detection. Bladder epithelial cells produce interleukin-6 ...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a toxic free radical produced by neutrophils and macrophages in response to infection. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) induces a variety of defence mechanisms in response to NO, including direct NO detoxification (Hmp, NorVW, NrfA), iron-sulphur cluster repair (YtfE), and the expression of the NO-tolerant cytochrome bd-I respiratory oxidase (CydAB). The current study ...

The initial step in the establishment of a mucosal bacterial infection is the interaction of bacterial adhesive proteins with epithelial cells, an event that is often followed by invasion of the epithelial cell. Invasion of host cells has been proposed to provide bacterial pathogens with a means of escaping the harsh extracellular environment, where antibodies, complement, defensins, and other ...

Serum resistance is an important virulence marker in uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) but its pattern with respect to commensal gastrointestinal strains is less studied. We compared the serum resistance pattern of UPEC with commensal strains in stool samples from healthy individuals. A total of 40 isolates of UPEC (test) and intestinal E. coli (control) each was obtained from patients of all age gr...