Virulence Characteristics ofEscherichia coliin Acute Bacterial Prostatitis

Abstract

To assess the urovirulence characteristics of Escherichia coli strains causing acute prostatitis, urinary isolates from men with acute prostatitis (n=107) and from women with acute uncomplicated pyelonephritis (n=76) were examined for the prevalence of sfa, foc, and 3 papG allele genotypes and phenotypes and for the production of alpha-hemolysin and cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1. The papG allele III and foc gene were found more frequently and the papG allele II less frequently among prostatitis than from pyelonephritis isolates. A higher proportion of hly+ cnf1+ genotype in prostatitis strains (64% vs. 36%) was particularly striking. Both prostatitis and pyelonephritis strains expressed virulence factors similarly except for a higher proportion of nonhemolytic prostatitis isolates. Although the pathogenetic mechanisms of urinary tract infections in men and women may differ, virulence factors such as adhesins and cytotoxins may have important roles in the pathogenesis of acute prostatitis.

Phylogenetic and Pathotypic Comparison of Concurrent Urine and RectalEscherichia coliIsolates from Men with Febrile Urinary Tract Infection

“…Likewise, it is not known whether the particular E. coli strains that cause UTI in men do so merely because of their high prevalence within the host's intestinal flora, consistent with the "prevalence" hypothesis for UTI pathogenesis (38), or instead because they possess an enhanced ability to cause extraintestinal disease compared with other E. coli strains, consistent with the "special pathogenicity" hypothesis that is thought to underlie UTI pathogenesis in most females (27,30). Although the virulence factors (VF) and surface antigens of E. coli isolates from men with febrile UTI and prostatitis exhibit many similarities to those of strains causing pyelonephritis in women and girls, consistent with the "special pathogenicity" hypothesis (1,25,32,37,39), few data are available comparing male UTI isolates with fecal isolates from the same hosts (36).Accordingly, we compared a collection of E. coli urine isolates from a cohort of 65 men with FUTI (a subset of the 70 isolates described in a recent report [17]) with concurrent pretherapy fecal E. coli isolates from the same men to assess both the "fecal-urethral" pathway and the "prevalence" versus "special pathogenicity" hypotheses in the context of FUTI in men. Specifically, we used genomic profiling to resolve distinct clones among the subjects' multiple fecal isolates and then compared urine and fecal clones with respect to surface antigens, phylogenetic background, and VF profiles.…”

“…Likewise, it is not known whether the particular E. coli strains that cause UTI in men do so merely because of their high prevalence within the host's intestinal flora, consistent with the "prevalence" hypothesis for UTI pathogenesis (38), or instead because they possess an enhanced ability to cause extraintestinal disease compared with other E. coli strains, consistent with the "special pathogenicity" hypothesis that is thought to underlie UTI pathogenesis in most females (27,30). Although the virulence factors (VF) and surface antigens of E. coli isolates from men with febrile UTI and prostatitis exhibit many similarities to those of strains causing pyelonephritis in women and girls, consistent with the "special pathogenicity" hypothesis (1,25,32,37,39), few data are available comparing male UTI isolates with fecal isolates from the same hosts (36).…”

“…Although several are traditionally recognized and have been studied specifically in connection with prostatitis (e.g., hly and cnf) (1,25,26,31,32,37), others are more recently discovered and/or have received comparatively little attention to date (e.g., ompT, malX, and iroN) (12,15,21,34). Conceivably some of these or other genetically linked traits could serve as targets for preventive interventions if a direct contribution to pathogenesis can be confirmed, as has been done for IroN (34).…”

Cellular and Humoral Systemic and Mucosal Immune Responses Stimulated by an Oral Polybacterial Immunomodulator in Patients with Chronic Urinary Tract Infections

“…Our data presented in Figs. [6][7][8] show that at the same time the preparation triggers a strong systemic humoral antibacterial immune response with production of specific IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies against all components of U. This undoubtedly shows that the oral administration of U stimulates the entire immune system.…”

Chronic bacterial inflammation induces prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia in mouse prostate

“…In addition, molecular epidemiological studies indicate a high prevalence of colonisation of the prostate, with inconclusively identified bacterial species in men with chronic prostatitis (Hochreiter et al, 2002). Because E. coli is the most common pathogen identified in acute prostatitis in humans (Mitsumori et al, 1999) and is able to induce acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis in rats (Nickel et al, 1990;Rippere-Lampe et al, 2001), we developed a new mouse model of bacterial prostatitis to study the relationships between bacterial infection and inflammation, oxidative stress, and prostatic carcinogenesis. In this study, all C3H/HeOuJ inbred male mice, known to be highly susceptible to infection, developed acute bacterial prostatitis at 5 days and severe, chronic bacterial prostatitis at 12 and 26 weeks after inoculation with E. coli bacteria.…”