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Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli: Molecular Mechanisms of Adherence

  • Chapter
Urogenital Infections

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 224))

Abstract

Escherichia coli isolated from endogenous infections of the urinary tract usually originate in the colon (1–3). From the stool, uropathogenic strains colonize the vaginal introitus and periurethral region (4). Colonization of uroepithelium may ensue, leading to bacteriuria. Symptoms arise when invasion of mucosa, cell death, and inflammation occur in the bladder or kidney. Therefore, cystitis and pyelonephritis may be viewed as the culmination of a sequence of events mediated by specific determinants of microbial virulence. It follows that uropathogenic E. coli are not simply the most prevalent fecal stains. Instead, they appear to manifest a pathogenic phenotype: they usually belong to a restricted number of O and K antigen serogroups (3–5); they are resistant to the bactericidal action of normal human serum (6–8); they secrete hemolysin (9–11), produce colicin V (12–13), and ferment salicin (14); and they attach to uroepithelial cells in vitro (15–17).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Service, Palo Alto Veterans Administration Medical Center, and the Departments of Medicine and Medical Microbiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA

    Gary K. Schoolnik, Peter O’Hanley, David Lark, Staffan Normark, Kenneth Vosti & Stanley Falkow

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  1. Gary K. Schoolnik
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  2. Peter O’Hanley
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  3. David Lark
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  4. Staffan Normark
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  5. Kenneth Vosti
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  6. Stanley Falkow
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Amedeo Bondi  & Donald D. Stieritz  & 

  2. Children’s Hospital National Medical Center, Washington, D.C., USA

    Joseph M. Campos

  3. Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania, USA

    Linda Ann Miller

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© 1987 Plenum Press, New York

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Schoolnik, G.K., O’Hanley, P., Lark, D., Normark, S., Vosti, K., Falkow, S. (1987). Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli: Molecular Mechanisms of Adherence. In: Bondi, A., Stieritz, D.D., Campos, J.M., Miller, L.A. (eds) Urogenital Infections. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 224. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8932-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8932-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-8934-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-8932-3

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