SPP 2225 - Subproject: Host and bacterial factors affecting the exit of uropathogenic Escherichia coli from intracellular bacterial communities in bladder epithelial cells (EXIT)

Basic data for this project

Description

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) account for the majority of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI), an common disease that mainly affects women. Invasion of bladder epithelial cells renders the intracellular bacteria resistant to antibiotic treatment and host clearance, potentially leading to bacterial persistence and subsequent recurrent UTI. After invading into superficial bladder cells, UPEC are either rapidly expelled from the cells or remain in a membrane-enclosed compartment. UPEC can escape from this compartment into the cytosol, multiply and then leave the host cells again to start a new infection cycle. Our aim is to uncover mechanistic relationships underlying recurrent UTI by deepening the understanding of the UPEC-urothelial cell interplay. We aim to understand decision-making processes and mechanisms controlling the exit of UPEC from their intracellular niche in bladder epithelial cells. The mechanistic details regarding which host cell modulators of the endosomal pathway are involved, and the role of the late endosomal/lysosomal compartment in the context of the phagosomal escape of intracellularly growing UPEC are only incompletely understood.