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Volume 167, Issue 10

type-1 fimbriae are critical to overcome initial bottlenecks of infection upon low-dose inoculation in a porcine model of cystitis Open Access

Abstract

Most uropathogenic (UPEC) express type-1 fimbriae (T1F), a key virulence factor for urinary tract infection (UTI) in mice. Evidence that conclusively associates this pilus with uropathogenesis in humans has, however, been difficult to obtain. We used an experimental porcine model of cystitis to assess the role of T1F in larger mammals more closely related to humans. Thirty-one pigs were infected with UPEC strain UTI89 or its T1F deficient mutant, UTI89Δ, at inoculum titres of 10 to 10 colony forming units per millilitre. Urine and blood samples were collected and analysed 7 and 14 days post-inoculation, and whole bladders were removed at day 14 and analysed for uroepithelium-associated UPEC. All animals were consistently infected and reached high urine titres independent of inoculum titre. UTI89Δ successfully colonized the bladders of 1/6 pigs compared to 6/6 for the wild-type strain. Intracellular UPEC were detectable in low numbers in whole bladder explants. In conclusion, low doses of UPEC are able to establish robust infections in pigs, similar to what is presumed in humans. T1F are critical for UPEC to surpass initial bottlenecks during infection but may be dispensable once infection is established. While supporting the conclusions from mice studies regarding a general importance of T1F in successfully infecting the host, the porcine UTI models’ natural high, more human-like, susceptibility to infection, allowed us to demonstrate a pivotal role of T1F in initial establishment of infection upon a realistic low-inoculum introduction of UPEC in the bladder.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): cystitis , pig model , type-1 fimbriae , urinary tract infection and uropathogenic escherichia coli
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Coloplast
    • Principle Award Recipient: ThomasEmil Andersen
  • Beckett-Fonden
    • Principle Award Recipient: ThomasKastberg Nielsen
  • Region of Southern Denmark (Award 17/33837)
    • Principle Award Recipient: ThomasEmil Andersen
  • Region of Southern Denmark (Award E-Fond: 150)
    • Principle Award Recipient: KristianStærk
© 2021 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License.
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2021-10-08
2024-04-26
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Escherichia coli type-1 fimbriae are critical to overcome initial bottlenecks of infection upon low-dose inoculation in a porcine model of cystitis
Microbiology 167, 001101 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001101
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001101
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001101
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