Each year, nearly 150 million people suffer from a urinary tract infection, some of which are affected recurrently. For the first time, scientists have identified a bacteria involved in the development of these infections. This is colibactin, a bacterial genotoxin suspected of being involved in cancer.
Colibactin, a toxin capable of modifying the DNA of the lining of the bladder
As a reminder, urinary tract infections occur when the urogenital region is contaminated with bacteria from the intestinal microbiota. It is known that in 80% of infections, Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria are involved. But for the first time, scientists from Inserm, Toulouse University Hospital, INRAE, Toulouse III University – Paul Sabatier and Toulouse National Veterinary School, identified the presence of a toxin produced by these bacteria in the urine, which would damage the DNA of bladder cells. This is colibactin.
To reach this discovery, the researchers analyzed urine samples from 223 patients with a urinary tract infection, linked to the presence of E. coli, taken care of in the emergency room of the Toulouse University Hospital. Published in Plos Pathogens on February 25, the results confirm the identification of the presence of colibactin produced by E. coli bacteria in at least 25% of the urine collected. It is the latter which is able to penetrate and modify the DNA of the lining of the bladder. According to study director Eric Oswald: “ While we can only speculate on the impact of these mutations at this time, it is likely that they are associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer. “.
New perspectives for people with chronic urinary tract infections
This discovery on the production of colibactin in urinary tract infections in humans and its genotoxicity in bladder cells opens the way to new prospects for treatments for people suffering from chronic urinary tract infections. Especially since at present, the main treatment prescribed in the context of urinary tract infection is antibiotics, which promotes the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
According to Eric Oswald, “ One could imagine setting up more specific treatment for patients suffering regularly from urinary tract infections, with a systematic search for colibactin markers in their urine. And more proactively, to propose therapeutic approaches aimed at modulating the composition of their intestinal microbiota, which represents the main reservoir of E. coli bacteria implicated in these urinary infections. “. For now, Inserm has stated that a team of researchers is currently working on several research projects around probiotics and the intestinal reservoir in order to limit harmful populations of E. coli in the microbiota and thus promote the emergence of ‘good bacteria’.
