Bacteria-Induced Uroplakin Signaling Mediates Bladder Response to Infection

Urinary tract infections are the second most common infectious disease in humans and are predominantly caused by uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC). A majority of UPEC isolates express the type 1 pilus adhesin, FimH, and cell culture and murine studies demonstrate that FimH is involved in invasion and apoptosis of urothelial cells. FimH initiates bladder pathology by binding to the uroplakin receptor complex, but the subsequent events mediating pathogenesis have not been fully characterized. We report a hitherto undiscovered signaling role for the UPIIIa protein, the only major uroplakin with a potential cytoplasmic signaling domain, in bacterial invasion and apoptosis. In response to FimH adhesin binding, the UPIIIa cytoplasmic tail undergoes phosphorylation on a specific threonine residue by casein kinase II, followed by an elevation of intracellular calcium. Pharmacological inhibition of these signaling events abrogates bacterial invasion and urothelial apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Our studies suggest that bacteria-induced UPIIIa signaling is a critical mediator of bladder responses to insult by uropathogenic E. coli

AOAH remodels arachidonic acid-containing phospholipid pools in a model of interstitial cystitis pain: A MAPP Network study.

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC) is a debilitating condition of chronic pelvic pain with unknown etiology. Recently, we used a genetic approach in a murine model of IC to identify the lipase acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH) as a modulator of pelvic pain. We found that AOAH-deficient mice have elevated pelvic pain responses, and AOAH immunoreactivity was detected along the bladder-brain axis. Lipidomic analyses identified arachidonic acid (AA) and its metabolite PGE2 as significantly elevated in the sacral spinal cord of AOAH-deficient mice, suggesting AA is a substrate for AOAH. Here, we quantified the effects of AOAH on phospholipids containing AA. Spinal cord lipidomics revealed increased AA-containing phosphatidylcholine in AOAH-deficient mice and concomitantly decreased AA-phosphatidylethanolamine, consistent with decreased CoA-independent transferase activity (CoIT). Overexpression of AOAH in cell cultures similarly altered distribution of AA in phospholipid pools, promoted AA incorporation, and resulted in decreased membrane fluidity. Finally, administration of a PGE2 receptor antagonist reduced pelvic pain in AOAH-deficient mice. Together, these findings suggest that AOAH represents a potential CoA-independent AA transferase that modulates CNS pain pathways at the level of phospholipid metabolism

Host‐Pathogen Interactions Mediating Pain of Urinary Tract Infection

Interior, ribbed vaults spring from top of arch; Toulouse's ecclesiastical buildings suffered the most damage during the French Revolution from 1789, indicating its religious importance under the ancien régime. Alexandre-Louis-Charles-André Du Mège was instrumental in saving medieval sculpture from various buildings that became the basis of the Musée des Augustins, the convent itself being relatively undamaged. On 27th August 1795, the Augustine convent became the Muséum Provisoire du Midi de la République and solemnly opened its doors to the public. The collection consisted of works confiscated during the revolution. The ensemble of these works is presented in the sumptuous setting of the church and the chapter houses of the old convent. They are also displayed in a wing specially built at the end of the 19th century by Denis Darcy, based on the drawings of the architect Viollet-Le-Duc. Source: Musée des Augustins [website]; http://www.augustins.org/en (accessed 5/16/2011

ASB <i>E. coli</i> isolate 2–12 rapidly attenuates UTI visceral pain of diverse uropathogens.

<p>A) Allodynia was quantified daily in groups of sham– or NU14-infected mice that were then treated at PID1 with saline, a three-day course of ciprofloxacin, or a single dose of intravesical or intravaginal 2–12 as described in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0109321#pone-0109321-g002" target="_blank">Figure 2A</a> (n = 8 in all groups except the 2–12 intravaginal group where n = 6). NU14-infected mice exhibited a significant decrease in pelvic pain 24 hours following treatment with 2–12 via the bladder or vaginal introitus (P<0.05). Allodynia was quantified in mice infected via transureathral catheter with <i>Proteus mirabilis</i> (PM1), <i>Enterocccus faecalis</i> (EF1) and <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> (KP1) and then treated with a three-day course of ciprofloxacin initiated at PID1 or a single intravesical dose of 2–12 (n = 5). B) PM1 induced pelvic allodynia that was significantly attenuated on PID3 and PID4 by 2–12 treatment, relative to the ciprofloxacin or saline groups (P<0.05). C) EF1 induced allodynia that was significantly attenuated on PID2-PID4 by 2–12 treatment, relative to ciprofloxacin or saline groups (P<0.05). Allodynia was also significantly reduced on PID5–6 compared to the saline group (P<0.05). D) KP1 induced allodynia that was significantly attenuated on PID2 by 2–12 treatment, relative to ciprofloxacin or saline groups (P<0.05).</p

<i>E. coli</i> 83972 attenuates NU14-induced bacteriuria and pelvic pain.

<p>A) Referred visceral hyperalgesia was measured as responses to mechanical stimulation of the pelvic region with von Frey filaments of 5 intensities. Responses were quantified at baseline, PID1 following NU14 infection, and 24 hours following of saline (n = 5) or 83972 (n = 10) instillation (PID2). B) NU14-infected mice exhibited a significant decrease in allodynia 24 hours following 83972 instillation. C) Percent increase in allodynia from PID1 was 146.2% in saline-treated mice, but decreased by over 68.9% in 83972-treated mice (P<0.01). D) Mice treated with 83972 exhibited a significantly less NU14 bacteriuria compared to saline-treated mice (P<0.01). Dashed line represents limit of detection. E) At PID1, NU14-infected mice were instilled with saline into the bladder or 2% lidocaine in the bladder, vaginal introitus or colon. Allodynia was significantly reduced at 1 h after lidocaine into any compartment, relative to bladder saline (*P<0.05; n = 9 saline, n = 10 bladder lidocaine, n = 11 colon lidocaine, n = 12 vaginal lidocaine). F) NU14-infected mice exhibited increased allodynia 24 hours after bladder instillation of saline, relative to PID1 (n = 10). Allodynia was significantly decreased at 24 hours following 83972 instillation into the bladder, colon or vaginal introitus (*P<0.05, n = 10 all groups). Data are reported as the mean ± SEM (A–C, E & F).</p

ASB strains differentially attenuate UTI visceral pain.

<p>Modulation of UTI visceral pain by a panel of 16 ASB <i>E. coli</i> strains. A) Mice were infected with NU14 and then instilled with saline or ASB <i>E. coli</i> at PID1, and allodynia was quantified through PID7 (n = 6 for all groups). For clarity, timecourses of allodynia for all 17 conditions were divided among 3 panels. All 16 ASB strains attenuated NU14-induced pelvic pain compared to the saline treated group. B) The relative analgesic activity of ASB strains was arbitrary grouped according to the magnitude of analgesia: strains with analgesic relative to saline but increased allodynia from PID1 (black bars), those that exhibited no increase in allodynia from PID1 to less than 75% reduction in visceral pain from PID1 (white bars), and those that exhibited greater than 75% reduction (gray bars). C) Representative ASB strains from each group in (B) were used in serial infections at two-week intervals. Serial infection did not induce allodynia. Data are reported as the mean ± SEM.</p

<i>E. coli</i> 83972 attenuates NU14 bacteriuria.

<p>A) Experimental scheme for assessing efficacy of a single administration of ASB therapy relative to 3-day course of ciprofloxacin (n = 5 for all groups). B) Mice infected with NU14 exhibited a significant decrease in NU14 bacteriuria 24 hours after initiation of ciprofloxacin (group C, back triangles, PID2, 4, 10), relative to saline-treated mice (group S, white triangles, *P<0.05). A single instillation of 83972 (group ASB, grey inverted triangles) also resulted in a significant decrease in NU14 bacteriuria after 24 hours (PID2, 4, 10, *P<0.05). C) Urinary 83972 for all three groups during the experiment. D and E) Bladder colonization on PID20 was not significantly different between the groups tested. Dashed lines represent limits of detection.</p

O-Antigen Modulates Infection-Induced Pain States

<div><p>The molecular initiators of infection-associated pain are not understood. We recently found that uropathogenic <em>E. coli</em> (UPEC) elicited acute pelvic pain in murine urinary tract infection (UTI). UTI pain was due to <em>E. coli</em> lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and its receptor, TLR4, but pain was not correlated with inflammation. LPS is known to drive inflammation by interactions between the acylated lipid A component and TLR4, but the function of the O-antigen polysaccharide in host responses is unknown. Here, we examined the role of O-antigen in pain using cutaneous hypersensitivity (allodynia) to quantify pelvic pain behavior and using sacral spinal cord excitability to quantify central nervous system manifestations in murine UTI. A UPEC mutant defective for O-antigen biosynthesis induced chronic allodynia that persisted long after clearance of transient infections, but wild type UPEC evoked only acute pain. <em>E. coli</em> strains lacking O-antigen gene clusters had a chronic pain phenotype, and expressing cloned O-antigen gene clusters altered the pain phenotype in a predictable manner. Chronic allodynia was abrogated in TLR4-deficient mice, but inflammatory responses in wild type mice were similar among <em>E. coli</em> strains spanning a wide range of pain phenotypes, suggesting that O-antigen modulates pain independent of inflammation. Spinal cords of mice with chronic allodynia exhibited increased spontaneous firing and compromised short-term depression, consistent with centralized pain. Taken together, these findings suggest that O-antigen functions as a rheostat to modulate LPS-associated pain. These observations have implications for an infectious etiology of chronic pain and evolutionary modification of pathogens to alter host behaviors.</p> </div