RESEARCH

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the second most common type of infectious disease in humans today and can result in significant costs and morbidity. Two main problems associated with UTIs are their high rate of occurence and the increasing resistance of uropathogens to antibiotics. It has been reported that between 40 and 50% of adult women experience at least one UTI during their lifetime. Even with antibiotic treatment, UTIs can recur in 25% of women within six months of an initial acute infection.  Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is the most common cause of infections of the urinary tract, including urinary bladder infections called cystitis. It had been established recently that UPEC are adapted to dwell  and proliferate within urinarry bladder epithelial cells (urothelial cells) where they are fairly protected from antibiotics and the host immune system.

Our results on in vitro and in vivo model systems revealed that the combination of antibiotic and biopolymer chitosan provokes a controllable detachment of urothelial cells and permanently cures bacterial cystitis in experimental animals.

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Notable publications:

• ERMAN, Andreja, KRIŽAN-HERGOUTH, Veronika, BLANGO, Matthew G., KEREC KOS, Mojca, MULVEY, Matthew A., VERANIČ, Peter. Repeated treatments with chitosan in combination with antibiotics completely eradicate uropathogenic Escherichia coli from infected mouse urinary bladders. The Journal of infectious diseases, ISSN 0022-1899, Aug. 2017, vol. 216, 375-371. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jix023.

• BLANGO, Matthew G., OTT, Elizabeth M., ERMAN, Andreja, VERANIČ, Peter, MULVEY, Matthew A. Forced resurgence and targeting of intracellular uropathogenic Escherichia coli reservoirs. PloS one, ISSN 1932-6203, Mar. 2014, vol. 9, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093327.

• ERMAN, Andreja, KEREC KOS, Mojca, ŽAKELJ, Simon, RESNIK, Nataša, ROMIH, Rok, VERANIČ, Peter. Correlative study of functional and structural regeneration of urothelium after chitosan-induced injury. Histochemistry and cell biology, ISSN 0948-6143, Nov. 2013, vol. 140, , str. 521-531, doi: 10.1007/s00418-013-1088-7

• ERMAN, Andreja, LAKOTA, Katja, MRAK POLJŠAK, Katjuša, BLANGO, Matthew G., KRIŽAN-HERGOUTH, Veronika, MULVEY, Matthew A., SODIN-ŠEMRL, Snežna, VERANIČ, Peter. Uropathogenic escherichia coli induces serum amyloid A in mice following urinary tract and systemic inoculation. PloS one, ISSN 1932-6203, Mar. 2012, vol. 7, iss. 3, str. [1-7], e32933. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032933.