Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common type of bacterial infection in humans. Fifty percent of all women will experience at least one UTI in their lifetime, with uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) accounting for 80% of reported cases. UTI evokes a complex, well-timed immune response that is crucial for bacterial clearance. The majority of immune cells participating in the immune response are absent from the healthy bladder, and the mechanisms used to recruit them upon UTI are not fully understood. Here, we show that immediately after UPEC infection, bladder epithelial cells secrete stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1), initiating immune cell accumulation at the site of infection. SDF-1 blockade significantly reduced immune cell migration to the infected bladder, resulting in severe exacerbation of infection. We also show that FimH, the adhesin of type 1 fimbria, one of UPEC's virulence factors, is directly involved in the secretion of SDF-1 upon UTI.
Cell reports. 2017 Jul 05 [Epub]
Batya Isaacson, Tehila Hadad, Ariella Glasner, Chamutal Gur, Zvi Granot, Gilad Bachrach, Ofer Mandelboim
The Lautenberg Center for General and Tumor Immunology, Department of Immunology and Cancer Research, IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel., The Institute of Dental Sciences, Hebrew University School of Dental Medicine, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel., The Lautenberg Center for General and Tumor Immunology, Department of Immunology and Cancer Research, IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel; Department of Internal Medicine, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem 911201, Israel., Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel., The Lautenberg Center for General and Tumor Immunology, Department of Immunology and Cancer Research, IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem 9112001, Israel. Electronic address: .