Nicole M. Gilbert, PhD, presented “Covert Pathogenesis in the Urinary Tract” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in June, 2020.
How to cite: Gilbert, Nicole M. “Covert Pathogenesis in the Urinary Tract” June, 2020. Accessed Jul 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/covert-pathogenesis-in-the-urinary-tract/
Covert Pathogenesis in the Urinary Tract – Summary:
In a conversation with A. Lenore Ackerman, MD, PhD, Section Co-Editor of the Next Generation Microbiome and Urologic Infection Learning Center on Grand Rounds in Urology, Nicole M. Gilbert, PhD, an instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, discusses her research linking urogenital microbes to recurrent urinary tract infection (rUTI). Although the bladder was long regarded as sterile in the absence of overt infection, recent research suggests that there is a urinary microbiome and that two commonly found bacteria in the bladder are Gardnerella and Lactobacillus, both of which are also common in the vagina. Dr. Gilbert and her colleagues wanted to investigate how those urogenital microbes affect the bladder, and determined that Gardnerella vaginalis causes urothelial exfoliation, a condition that has been associated with rUTI. Because Gardnerella vaginalis appears able to trigger rUTI even when it is cleared out of the bladder within 12 hours, Dr. Gilbert calls it a covert pathogen, and suggests that further research is needed to find stable indicators of repeat exposure to Gardnerella.
For more information on recurrent UTI and the urinary microbiome, visit our Next Generation Learning Center.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Gilbert is an Instructor in the Department of Pediatrics of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, Missouri. She earned her PhD from Saint Louis University, studying the genetic and molecular determinants of cell wall organization in the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans under the tutelage of Dr. Jennifer Lodge. Since beginning her postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Amanda Lewis in the Center for Women’s Infectious Disease research at Wash U, she has been developing novel in vivo models to better understand the impact of urogenital bacteria on the reproductive and urinary tracts. Dr. Gilbert currently has a K01 Fellowship from the NIDDK to study the mechanisms by which Gardnerella vaginalis, a frequent member of the vaginal and urinary microbiota, causes bladder injury and promotes recurrent E. coli UTI. As research continues to define the polymicrobial communities associated with urogenital disease in humans, the overarching goal of Dr. Gilbert’s ongoing research is to continue to develop model systems to take the step from association to causation.
