Urethral Catheter Biofilms Reveal Plasticity in Bacterial Composition and Metabolism and Withstand Host Immune Defenses in Hypoxic Environment.

ABSTRACT: Biofilms composed of multiple microorganisms colonize the surfaces of indwelling urethral catheters that are used serially by neurogenic bladder patients and cause chronic infections. Well-adapted pathogens in this niche are Escherichia coli, Proteus, and Enterococcus spp., species that cycle through adhesion and multilayered cell growth, trigger host immune responses, are starved off nutrients, and then disperse. Viable microbial foci retained in the urinary tract recolonize catheter surfaces. The molecular adaptations of bacteria in catheter biofilms (CBs) are not well-understood, promising new insights into this pathology based on host and microbial meta-omics analyses from clinical specimens. We examined catheters from nine neurogenic bladder patients longitudinally over

SUBMITTER: Yu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8260951 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature