Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2021
Publication Title
Biology Open
Volume
10
Issue
8
Pages
1-12
Publisher Name
The Company of Biologists
Abstract
In recent years, the clinical significance of Aerococcus urinae has been increasingly recognized. A. urinae has been implicated in cases of urinary tract infection (UTI; acute cystitis and pyelonephritis) in both male and female patients, ranging from children to older adults. Aerococcus urinae can also be invasive, causing urosepsis, endocarditis, and musculoskeletal infections. Mechanisms of pathogenesis in A. urinae infections are poorly understood, largely due to the lack of an animal model system. In response to this gap, we developed a model of A. urinae urinary tract infection in mice. We compared A. urinae UTI in female C3H/HeN and C57BL/6 mice and compared four clinical isolates of A. urinae isolated from patients with UTI, urgency urinary incontinence, and overactive bladder. Our data demonstrate that host genetic background modulates A. urinae UTI. Female C57BL/6 female mice rapidly cleared the infection. Female C3H/HeN mice, which have inherent vesicoureteral reflux that flushes urine from the bladder up into the kidneys, were susceptible to prolonged bacteriuria. This result is consistent with the fact that A. urinae infections most frequently occur in patients with underlying urinary tract abnormalities or disorders that make them susceptible to bacterial infection. Unlike uropathogens such as E. coli, which cause infection and inflammation both of the bladder and kidneys in C3H/ HeN mice, A. urinae displayed tropism for the kidney, persisting in kidney tissue even after clearance of bacteria from the bladder. Aerococcus urinae strains from different genetic clades displayed varying propensities to cause persistent kidney infection. Aerococcus urinae infected kidneys displayed histological inflammation, neutrophil recruitment and increased pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Identifier
85113411062 (Scopus)
Recommended Citation
Gilbert, Nicole M.; Choi, Brian; Du, Jingjie; Collins, Christina; Lewis, Amanda L.; Putonti, Catherine; and Wolfe, Alan J.. A mouse model displays host and bacterial strain differences in Aerococcus urinae urinary tract infection. Biology Open, 10, 8: 1-12, 2021. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works, http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/bio.058931
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
