Extracellular vesicles from bacteria and fungi: mechanistic insights and implications for urinary tract infections
Abstract
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) pose a significant public health challenge, affecting approximately 407 million people worldwide and causing substantial morbidity and approximately 237,000 deaths. Bacteria and fungi represent the most frequent causative microbes, leading to symptoms such as low abdominal pain, fever, frequent urination, hematuria, sepsis, inflammation of the bladder and kidney, and even death. In recent years, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as critical mediators of UTI pathogenesis. EVs are lipid bilayer nanoscale particles that carry DNA, RNA, enzymes, and other biomolecules. They can facilitate microbial colonization, immune modulation and evasion, tissue invasion, and antimicrobial agent resistance. This review summarizes current knowledge on the role of bacterial and fungal-derived EVs in UTIs, their mechanisms of action, and their potential therapeutic implications.
Read the paper
Related studies
- Horizontal gene transfer in the human gastrointestinal tract: potential spread of antibiotic resistance genes
- Mutation supply and relative fitness shape the genotypes of ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli
- Genomic Survey of E. coli From the Bladders of Women With and Without Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
- Characterization of cefotaxime-resistant urinary Escherichia coli from primary care in South-West England 2017–18
- Fitness cost constrains the spectrum of marR mutations in ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli
- Emerging evidence-based innovative approaches to control catheter-associated urinary tract infection: a review
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.