Proteomic analysis of Escherichia coli associated with urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is considered to be one of the most prevalent bacterial infections in the world. It affects urinary tract system including bladder and kidney. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli is more prevalent in females due to their anatomical structure as well as they are more susceptible to recurrent infections. Every woman out of three is affected by UTIs. Gram-negative bacteria are a major cause, particularly Escherichia coli (E. coli). E. coli was considered a main causative agent for 80–90 % of community-acquired infection and for about 40 % of nosocomial UTI. Moreover, it is responsible for 25 % of recurrent infection. Proteomic can be used to analyze and identify complete components of proteins. It can be used to distinguish between bacteria based on synthesized proteins. In addition, proteomic is applicable to identify possible targets of therapy. My study aims To compare protein profiles of E. coli from different UTI patients and identify possible unique protein signature for future biomarker studies. Six Urine samples with E. coli were taken from females aged from 15 to 50 years old. Samples loaded onto Sodium dodecyl sulfate Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for separation. Samples with abundant proteins profiles on SDS-PAGE, were selected for run on two dimensional gel electrophoresis. Gels were compared to each other to look for interesting protein spots. Many differences were observed in protein profiles of E. coli isolates in both 1D SDS-PAGE and 2DGE. Two bacterial proteins identified as possible candidate were (OmpA) found in Gram negative bacteria and RNA polymerase-binding transcription factor DksA mostly found in E. coli