Advances in Understanding the Human Urinary Microbiome and Its Potential Role in Urinary Tract Infection

Abstract

Recent advances in the analysis of microbial communities colonizing the human body have identified a resident microbial community in the human urinary tract (UT). Compared to many other microbial niches, the human UT harbors a relatively low biomass. Studies have identified many genera and species that may constitute a core urinary microbiome. However, the contribution of the UT microbiome to urinary tract infection (UTI) and recurrent UTI (rUTI) pathobiology is not yet clearly understood. Evidence suggests that commensal species within the UT and urogenital tract (UGT) microbiomes, such as Lactobacillus crispatus, may act to protect against colonization with uropathogens. However, the mechanisms and fundamental biology of the urinary microbiome-host relationship are not understood. The ability to measure and characterize the urinary microbiome has been enabled through the development of next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic platforms that allow for the unbiased detection of resident microbial DNA. Translating technological advances into clinical insight will require further study of the microbial and genomic ecology of the urinary microbiome in both health and disease. Future diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic options for the management of UTI may soon incorporate efforts to measure, restore, and/or preserve the native, healthy ecology of the urinary microbiomes.

The Urinary Microbiome in Postmenopausal Women with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

“…Using this technique, we are able to hone in on specific taxa that can be explored in future mechanistic studies. We also found associations between microbial composition and several covariates including sexual activity, age, Other groups have reported evidence for synergistic interactions amongst urinary and other microbes that enhance bacterial colonization and/or persistence (12,27). Our findings overall support the idea that it may not be one particular microbe that puts a woman at risk for For this analysis, we used a convenience sample of the first 64 women enrolled in a larger longitudinal study.…”

“…The pathophysiology of recurrent UTIs is not well understood, but infections are often thought to arise either from repeated ascending bacteria originating outside of the urinary tract, or from reinfection by a persistent reservoir source within the urinary tract (12). One potential reservoir includes the urinary microbiome, which can be quite diverse and contains microbiota considered to be commensals, as well as others that are considered uropathogens (13)(14)(15)(16).…”

Mimicking prophage induction in the body: induction in the lab with pH gradients

“…Lactobacillus species, which lower pH by the production of lactic acid (see review Stapleton, 2016 ), are dominant members of the bladder’s microbiome (see reviews Brubaker & Wolfe, 2017 ; Mueller, Wolfe & Brubaker, 2017 ). The pH of urine in healthy individuals can vary widely ( Simerville, Maxted & Pahira, 2005 ; Neugent et al, 2020 ), and individuals with Type 2 Diabetes and uric acid stones typically have lower pH values ( Pak et al, 2003 ; Cameron et al, 2006 ). Thus, we were interested to see if pH values deviating from the “norm” stress urinary bacteria, thus mediating induction.…”

Identification of a novel cationic glycolipid inStreptococcus agalactiaethat contributes to brain entry and meningitis

“…It is possible that that Lys-Glc-DAG can be more effectively used to modulate the charge-related biophysical and physiological properties of GBS membrane than Lys-PG. Lactobacillus is known to acidify the surrounding environment(46,47). We show in vitro that the GBS lysine lipids play a critical role in survival at pH 5 and are also important for interactions with human vaginal epithelial cells.These data suggest that MprF and the lysine-modified lipids it synthesizes are especially important in the niches GBS colonizes, which requires further investigation.…”