These E. coli are primarily derived from the faecal flora, which can colonize the periurethral area, overcome the local host defences and enter and multiply within the urinary tract. These E. coli strains are designed as Uropathogenic E. Coli (UPEC) which possess distinctive traits that confer an enhanced extraintestinal virulence potential. 4-6 UTI is predominantly a disease of the females, be...

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the clonal structure, virulence potential and antibiotic susceptibility of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolates causing community acquired urinary tract infection (CAUTI) in unselected primary care patients in Switzerland. Methods: We performed multilocus sequence typing, virulence factor determination, and phenotypic and genotypic antim...

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common nosocomial infection in the United States. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), the most common cause of CAUTI, can form biofilms on indwelling catheters. Here, we identify and characterize novel factors that affect biofilm formation by UPEC strains that cause CAUTI. Sixty-five CAUTI UPEC isolates were characterized for ph...

Type 1 pili mediate binding, invasion, and biofilm formation of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) in the host urothelium during urinary tract infection (UTI) via the adhesin FimH. In this study, we characterized the molecular basis of functional differences between FimH of the UPEC isolate UTI89 and the Klebsiella pneumoniae cystitis isolate TOP52. Type 1 pili characteristically mediate man...

The ability of Escherichia coli to colonize both intestinal and extraintestinal sites is driven by the presence of specific virulence factors, among which are the autotransporter (AT) proteins. Members of the trimeric AT adhesin family are important virulence factors for several gram-negative pathogens and mediate adherence to eukaryotic cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. In this st...

Although integrons by themselves are not mobile, due to their presence in plasmids and transposons, they can be transferred horizontally. For these reasons integrons are a major mechanism for the spread and maintenance of multidrug resistance (MDR). This study describes the distribution of integron gene cassette classes in a collection of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) isolated from chil...

Invasion of bladder epithelial cells by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) contributes to antibiotic-resistant and recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), but this process is incompletely understood. In this paper, we provide evidence that the large guanosine triphosphatase dynamin2 and its partner, endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS [eNOS]), mediate bacterial entry. Overexpressi...

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common infectious diseases of humans, with approximately 150 million cases estimated to occur globally every year. UTIs usually start as a bladder infection (cystitis), but can develop into acute kidney infection (pyelonephritis) and even infection of the bloodstream (urosepsis). The high frequency of UTIs in community and nosocomial settings ...

Bacteriophage St11Ph5 was isolated from a sewage sample on a particularly phage-resistant uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) up11 host strain. It appeared to be closely related to bacteriophage G7C, isolated from horse feces; however, it carries a highly divergent host recognition module.

Recent work has shown how comparative genomic and microarray analyses can provide insights into the transcriptional state of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) during infection. This study will serve as an important platform from which to identify virulence determinants and the principle mechanisms of adaptation to the urinary tract.