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A Murine Model for Escherichia coli Urinary Tract Infection

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Bacterial Persistence

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1333))

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common bacterial infections of humans. The mouse provides an excellent and tractable model system for cystitis and pyelonephritis caused by Escherichia coli and other uropathogens. Using a well-established model of experimental cystitis in which the bladders of female mice are infected via transurethral catheterization, the molecular details of the pathogenesis of bacterial cystitis have been substantially illuminated in the last decade. Uropathogenic E. coli attach to bladder epithelium (both in human and mouse) via adhesive type 1 pili, establish a replicative niche within epithelial cell cytoplasm, and form intracellular bacterial communities that are protected from antibiotic effects and immune clearance. The use of different inbred and mutant mouse strains offers the opportunity to study outcomes of infection, including resolution, formation of quiescent intracellular bacterial reservoirs, chronic bacterial cystitis, and recurrent infections. Urine, bladder, and kidney tissues can be analyzed by bacterial culture, histology, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescent and confocal microscopy, electron microscopy, and flow cytometry, while a broad array of soluble markers (e.g., cytokines) can also be profiled in serum, urine, and tissue homogenates by ELISA, Western blotting, multiplex bead array, and other approaches. This model promises to afford continued opportunity for discovery of pathogenic mechanisms and evaluation of therapeutic and preventive strategies for acute, chronic, and recurrent UTI.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01-DK080752, R01-DK082546, P50-DK064540, and U01-AI095542.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Thomas J. Hannan

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, Campus, 8208, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    David A. Hunstad

  3. Department of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    David A. Hunstad

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  1. Thomas J. Hannan
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Correspondence to David A. Hunstad .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium

    Jan Michiels

  2. Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Heverlee, Belgium

    Maarten Fauvart

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Hannan, T.J., Hunstad, D.A. (2016). A Murine Model for Escherichia coli Urinary Tract Infection. In: Michiels, J., Fauvart, M. (eds) Bacterial Persistence. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1333. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2854-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2854-5_14

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2853-8

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