Uropathogenic Escherichia coli induces chronic pelvic pain.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a debilitating syndrome of unknown etiology often postulated, but not proven, to be associated with microbial infection of the prostate gland. We hypothesized that infection of the prostate by clinically relevant uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) can initiate and establish chronic pain. We utilized an E. coli strain newly isolated from a patient with CP/CPPS (strain CP1) and examined its molecular pathogenesis in cell culture and in a murine model of bacterial prostatitis. We found that CP1 is an atypical isolate distinct from most UPEC in its phylotype and virulence factor profile. CP1 adhered to, invaded, and proliferated within prostate epithelia and colonized the prostate and bladder of NOD and C57BL/6J mice. Using behavioral measures of pelvic pain, we showed that CP1 induced and sustained chronic pelvic pain in NOD mice, an attribute not exhibited by a clinical cystitis strain. Furthermore, pain was observed to persist even after bacterial clearance from genitourinary tissues. CP1 induced pelvic pain behavior exclusively in NOD mice and not in C57BL/6J mice, despite comparable levels of colonization and inflammation. Microbial infections can thus serve as initiating agents for chronic pelvic pain through mechanisms that are dependent on both the virulence of the bacterial strain and the genetic background of the host.

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.

Urothelial cultures support intracellular bacterial community formation by uropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) causes most community-acquired and nosocomial urinary tract infections (UTI). In a mouse model of UTI, UPEC invades superficial bladder cells and proliferates rapidly, forming biofilm-like structures called intracellular bacterial communities (IBCs). Using a gentamicin protection assay and fluorescence microscopy, we developed an in vitro model for studying UPEC proliferation within immortalized human urothelial cells. By pharmacologic manipulation of urothelial cells with the cholesterol-sequestering drug filipin, numbers of intracellular UPEC CFU increased 8 h and 24 h postinfection relative to untreated cultures. Enhanced UPEC intracellular proliferation required that the urothelial cells, but not the bacteria, be filipin treated prior to infection. However, neither UPEC frequency of invasion nor early intracellular trafficking events to a Lamp1-positive compartment were modulated by filipin. Upon inspection by fluorescence microscopy, cultures with enhanced UPEC intracellular proliferation exhibited large, dense bacterial aggregates within cells that resembled IBCs but were contained with Lamp1-positive vacuoles. While an isogenic fimH mutant was capable of forming these IBC-like structures, the mutant formed significantly fewer than wild-type UPEC. Similar to IBCs, expression of E. coli iron acquisition systems was upregulated by intracellular UPEC. Expression of other putative virulence factors, including hlyA, cnf1, fliC, kpsD, and the biofilm adhesin yfaL also increased, while expression of fimA decreased and that of flu did not change. These results indicate that UPEC differentially regulates virulence factors in the intracellular environment. Thus, immortalized urothelial cultures that recapitulate IBC formation in vitro represent a novel system for the molecular and biochemical characterization of the UPEC intracellular life cycle.

Differentiation-induced uroplakin III expression promotes urothelial cell death in response to uropathogenic E. coli.

Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) expressing type 1 pili underlie most urinary tract infections (UTIs). UPEC adherence to the bladder urothelium induces a rapid apoptosis and exfoliation of terminally differentiated urothelial cells, a critical event in pathogenesis. Of the four major uroplakin proteins that are densely expressed on superficial urothelial cells, UPIa serves as the receptor for type 1-piliated UPEC, but the contributions of uroplakins to cell death are not known. We examined the role of differentiation and uroplakin expression on UPEC-induced cell death. Utilizing in vitro models of urothelial differentiation, we demonstrated induction of tissue-specific differentiation markers including uroplakins. UPEC-induced urothelial cell death was shown to increase with enhanced differentiation but required expression of uroplakin III: infection with an adenovirus encoding uroplakin III significantly increased cell death, while siRNA directed against uroplakin III abolished UPEC-induced cell death. In a murine model of UTI where superficial urothelial cells were selectively eroded to expose less differentiated cells, urothelial apoptosis was reduced, indicating a requirement for differentiation in UPEC-induced apoptosis in vivo. These data suggest that induction of uroplakin III during urothelial differentiation sensitizes cells to UPEC-induced death. Thus, uroplakin III plays a pivotal role in UTI pathogenesis.

Mast cell-derived histamine mediates cystitis pain.

BACKGROUND: Mast cells trigger inflammation that is associated with local pain, but the mechanisms mediating pain are unclear. Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a bladder disease that causes debilitating pelvic pain of unknown origin and without consistent inflammation, but IC symptoms correlate with elevated bladder lamina propria mast cell counts. We hypothesized that mast cells mediate pelvic pain directly and examined pain behavior using a murine model that recapitulates key aspects of IC. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Infection of mice with pseudorabies virus (PRV) induces a neurogenic cystitis associated with lamina propria mast cell accumulation dependent upon tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF), TNF-mediated bladder barrier dysfunction, and pelvic pain behavior, but the molecular basis for pelvic pain is unknown. In this study, both PRV-induced pelvic pain and bladder pathophysiology were abrogated in mast cell-deficient mice but were restored by reconstitution with wild type bone marrow. Pelvic pain developed normally in TNF- and TNF receptor-deficient mice, while bladder pathophysiology was abrogated. Conversely, genetic or pharmacologic disruption of histamine receptor H1R or H2R attenuated pelvic pain without altering pathophysiology. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that mast cells promote cystitis pain and bladder pathophysiology through the separable actions of histamine and TNF, respectively. Therefore, pain is independent of pathology and inflammation, and histamine receptors represent direct therapeutic targets for pain in IC and other chronic pain conditions.