Invasion of vaginal epithelial cells by uropathogenic Escherichia coli

Abstract

Uropathogenic E. coli can adhere to vaginal epithelial cells preceding urinary tract infection (UTI). Here, Brannon et al. show that urinary E. coli isolates can not only adhere to, but also invade vaginal cells in mouse UTI models and in clinical samples obtained from women with recurrent UTI.