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Bladder cell reaction to bacteria may lead to UTI treatment

When bladder cells cannot kill the E. coli bacteria that causes UTIs, the cells have a method of encasing the bacteria and physically ejecting it.

By Stephen Feller

DURHAM, N.C., May 28 (UPI) -- In cases where bladder cells cannot kill the E. coli bacteria which causes urinary tract infections, or UTIs, the cells have a method of encasing the bacteria and physically ejecting it.

UTIs are most commonly caused by bacterial infections, usually from a particular strain of E. coli that can hide inside bladder cells, making antibiotic treatments less effective. Researchers believe, however, that they can promote bladder cells' ejection of the bacteria and to better treat recurrent infections.

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When the E. coli bacteria invades a bladder cell, the autophagy defense mechanism encases the bacteria in a membrane and takes it to the acidic lysosome where it is destroyed. In some cases, the bacteria can neutralize the acidic environment and survive. When this happens, the lysosome is triggered to eject its contents from the cell.

The ejected bacteria are still encased in a cell membrane, which researchers say likely prevents them from reattaching to the bladder wall and instead ensures they're flushed out with urine.

"A lot of women tend to experience recurrent infections once they have an initial bout of UTI," said Soman Abraham, Ph.D., a professor in the departments of Pathology, Immunology, and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Duke University School of Medicine, in a press release. "The reason for this is that there is bacterial persistence within the cells of the bladder. If we can eliminate these reservoirs using agents that promote expulsion, then we can potentially eradicate recurrent UTIs."

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The study is published in the journal Cell.

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