ArticlePloS one2013
Enterococcus faecalis subverts and invades the host urothelium in patients with chronic urinary tract infection.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers.
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Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- Urinary cytokines in women with refractory detrusor overactivity: A longitudinal study of rotating antibiotic versus placebo treatment.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Outcomes of Long-Term Antibiotic Therapy in Women with Chronic Recalcitrant Cystitis.International urogynecology journal · 2026Article
- Novel Recombinant Endolysin LysMYM94 against Dry-Grind Corn Mash Bioethanol Fermentation Contaminant Limosilactobacillus fermentum.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2026Article
- Differential antimicrobial responses in polymicrobial triple-species biofilms associated with persistent urinary tract infections.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Rethinking urinary tract infections in women with abdominal pain in pregnancy: a prospective case-control study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- Antibiotic Outcomes of Enterococcal Urinary Tract Infections: A Retrospective Analysis from Saudi Arabia and Oman.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Article
- Identification of candidate nucleomodulins in ESKAPE bacteria -Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
- Metagenomic Characterization of Nitrite-Negative Urinary Tract Infections and Identification of anInfection and drug resistance · 2026Article
- More than an infection: the ecological puzzle of recurrent urinary tract infections.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Review
- Complete genome sequence of vaginal swab isolateMicrobiology resource announcements · 2025Article
- Bladder wall-embedded bacteria associated with increased risk of recurrence after electrofulguration in women with antibiotic-recalcitrant urinary tract infection.JU open plus · 2025Article
- Prevalence of Urine Culture Contamination in a Primary Care Outpatient Setting in Muscat, Oman:Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2025Article
- Novel Techniques to Unravel Causative Bacterial Ecological Shifts in Chronic Urinary Tract Infection.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Nur77 protects the bladder urothelium from intracellular bacterial infection.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Review
- Article
- VesiX cetylpyridinium chloride is rapidly bactericidal and reduces uropathogenicMicrobiology spectrum · 2024Article
- From the Friend to the Foe-International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Lower Urinary Tract Inflammation and Infection: Key Microbiological and Immunological Aspects.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI) are a major growing concern worldwide. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli has been shown to invade the urothelium during acute UTI in mice and humans, forming intracellular reservoirs that can evade antibiotics and the immune response, allowing recurrence at a later date. Other bacterial species, such as Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Klebsiella pneumonia and Salmonella enterica have also been shown to be invasive in acute UTI. However, the role of intracellular infection in chronic UTI causing more subtle lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), a particular problem in the elderly population, is poorly understood. Moreover, the species of bacteria involved remains largely unknown. A previous study of a large cohort of non-acute LUTS patients found that Enterococcus faecalis was frequently found in urine specimens. E. faecalis accounts for a significant proportion of chronic bladder infections worldwide, although the invasive lifestyle of this uropathogen has yet to be reported. Here, we wanted to explore this question in more detail. We harvested urothelial cells shed in response to inflammation and, using advanced imaging techniques, inspected them for signs of bacterial pathology and invasion. We found strong evidence of intracellular E. faecalis harboured within urothelial cells shed from the bladder of LUTS patients. Furthermore, using a culture model system, these patient-isolated strains of E. faecalis were able to invade a transitional carcinoma cell line. In contrast, we found no evidence of cellular invasion by E. coli in the patient cells or the culture model system. Our data show that E. faecalis is highly competent to invade in this context; therefore, these results have implications for both the diagnosis and treatment of chronic LUTS.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.