Open AccessUrinary tract infections: microbial pathogenesis, host–pathogen interactions and new treatment strategies
Author(s) -
Roger D. Klein,
Scott J. Hultgren
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nature reviews. microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 11.496
H-Index - 300
eISSN - 1740-1534
pISSN - 1740-1526
DOI - 10.1038/s41579-020-0324-0
Subject(s) - pathogen , biology , antibiotics , virulence , pathogenesis , host (biology) , antibiotic resistance , microbiology and biotechnology , host factors , urinary system , immunology , genetics , gene , endocrinology , virus
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common, recurrent infections that can be mild to life-threatening. The continued emergence of antibiotic resistance, together with our increasing understanding of the detrimental effects conferred by broad-spectrum antibiotic use on the health of the beneficial microbiota of the host, has underscored the weaknesses in our current treatment paradigm for UTIs. In this Review, we discuss how recent microbiological, structural, genetic and immunological studies have expanded our understanding of host-pathogen interactions during UTI pathogenesis. These basic scientific findings have the potential to shift the strategy for UTI treatment away from broad-spectrum antibiotics targeting conserved aspects of bacterial replication towards pathogen-specific antibiotic-sparing therapeutics that target core determinants of bacterial virulence at the host-pathogen interface.