SIR Medicine Investigation Abstract
DETERMINATION OF THE HUMAN BLADDER CELL RECEPTORS FOR UROPATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI
Presenter:
Jing Han, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL, 60506
Mentors:
Mr. Ben Billips, Northwestern University Medical Center
Dr. David Klumpp, Northwestern University Medical Center
Abstract:
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are an important clinical problem. As the second most common bacterial infection, it is the cause of over 7 million US clinical visits annually. Acute UTI's are primarily caused by type-1 piliated uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC); present in over 90% of clinical isolates, type-1 pili allow UPEC adherence to structures on the surface of cells lining the urinary tract. These apical structures, shown to facilitate UPEC binding, are composed of proteins termed uroplakins Ia, Ib, II, and III. The goal of this research is to determine which uroplakins facilitate UPEC binding via type-I pili. Uroplakin proteins were expressed, using adenoviral constructs, alone and in combination in the human epithelial cell lines HeLa and PD07i to identify which uroplakin subunits mediate UPEC adherence. At present, the basic procedures and conditions for UPEC adherence assays, and blotting parameters for uroplakin expression, have been established. Uroplakin antibody effectiveness has been evaluated and adenovirus titers have been determined. This system will be utilized to quantify UPEC binding to uroplakin-expressing cells by exposing the cells to UPEC and then determining the number of adherent bacteria by plating. This data is essential for further dissecting the mechanisms of UPEC adherence to uroplakins.