Uropathogenic Escherichia coli: features of LC2 And EC73 strains from Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) strains are the major causative agents of human urinary tract infections (UTIs). Many patients, who develop UTI, will experience a recurrent UTI (RUTI) within 6 months despite antibiotic-mediated clearance of the initial infection. A significant proportion of RUTIs are caused by E. coli identical to the original strain. UPEC employs several strategies to adhere, colonize, and persist within the bladder niche. The knowledge about the mechanisms regulating specific host-pathogen interactions that promote bacterial persistence is necessary to eliminate UPEC reservoirs from the bladder and to develop new approaches to RUTI diagnosis and treatment. In this study, we analyzed 2 E. coli strains collected from patients with RUTIs, namely LC2 and EC73, in order to elucidate the persistence-promoting behavior of bacteria in UTIs.