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A human urothelial microtissue model reveals shared colonization and survival strategies between uropathogens and commensals

Flores, Carlos; Ling, Jefferson; Loh, Amanda; Maset, Ramón G; Aw, Angeline; White, Ian J; Fernando, Raymond; (2023) A human urothelial microtissue model reveals shared colonization and survival strategies between uropathogens and commensals. Science Advances , 9 (45) , Article eadi9834. 10.1126/sciadv.adi9834. Green open access

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Abstract

Urinary tract infection is among the most common infections worldwide, typically studied in animals and cell lines with limited uropathogenic strains. Here, we assessed diverse bacterial species in a human urothelial microtissue model exhibiting full stratification, differentiation, innate epithelial responses, and urine tolerance. Several uropathogens invaded intracellularly, but also commensal Escherichia coli, suggesting that invasion is a shared survival strategy, not solely a virulence hallmark. The E. coli adhesin FimH was required for intracellular bacterial community formation, but not for invasion. Other shared lifestyles included filamentation (Gram-negatives), chaining (Gram-positives), and hijacking of exfoliating cells, while biofilm-like aggregates were formed mainly with Pseudomonas and Proteus. Urothelial cells expelled invasive bacteria in Rab-/LC3-decorated structures, while highly cytotoxic/invasive uropathogens, but not commensals, disrupted host barrier function and strongly induced exfoliation and cytokine production. Overall, this work highlights diverse species-/strain-specific infection strategies and corresponding host responses in a human urothelial microenvironment, providing insights at the microtissue, cell, and molecular level.

Type: Article
Title: A human urothelial microtissue model reveals shared colonization and survival strategies between uropathogens and commensals
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi9834
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi9834
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY).
Keywords: Animals, Humans, Escherichia coli, Fimbriae Proteins, Adhesins, Escherichia coli, Urinary Tract Infections, Escherichia coli Infections
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Renal Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10181434
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