TY - JOUR
T1 - The Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans Promotes Bladder Colonization of Group B Streptococcus
AU - Shing, Samuel R.
AU - Ramos, Anissa R.
AU - Patras, Kathryn A.
AU - Riestra, Angelica M.
AU - McCabe, Sinead
AU - Nizet, Victor
AU - Coady, Alison
N1 - Funding Information:
AC was supported through a postdoctoral fellowship from the A. P. Giannini Foundation, and KP was supported through a postdoctoral fellowship from the Hartwell Foundation. Studies were supported by NIH grants U54-HD090259 and U01-AI124316 to VN.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Shing, Ramos, Patras, Riestra, McCabe, Nizet and Coady.
PY - 2020/1/10
Y1 - 2020/1/10
N2 - Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a common cause of bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI) in susceptible populations, including pregnant women and the elderly. However, the factors that govern GBS persistence and disease severity in this niche are not fully understood. Here, we report that the presence of the fungus Candida albicans, a common urogenital colonizer, can promote GBS UTI. Co-inoculation of GBS with C. albicans increased bacterial adherence to bladder epithelium and promoted GBS colonization in vivo in a C. albicans adhesin-dependent manner. This study demonstrates that fungal colonization of the urogenital tract may be an important determinant of bacterial pathogenesis during UTI.
AB - Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a common cause of bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI) in susceptible populations, including pregnant women and the elderly. However, the factors that govern GBS persistence and disease severity in this niche are not fully understood. Here, we report that the presence of the fungus Candida albicans, a common urogenital colonizer, can promote GBS UTI. Co-inoculation of GBS with C. albicans increased bacterial adherence to bladder epithelium and promoted GBS colonization in vivo in a C. albicans adhesin-dependent manner. This study demonstrates that fungal colonization of the urogenital tract may be an important determinant of bacterial pathogenesis during UTI.
KW - Candida albicans
KW - fungal-bacterial interaction
KW - polymicrobial infection
KW - Streptococcus agalactiae
KW - urinary tract infection
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078406273&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85078406273&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00437
DO - 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00437
M3 - Article
C2 - 31998657
AN - SCOPUS:85078406273
SN - 2235-2988
VL - 9
JO - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology
M1 - 437
ER -