Bacterium’s coiled anchor causes urinary tract infections

UCL and Birkbeck-led research reveals the flexible, coiled structure used by bacteria to anchor onto the lining of the urinary tract, which allows them to thrive and cause infections. Understanding this structure in atomic detail will help the development of new drugs to treat urinary tract infections (UTIs), say the scientists behind the study. The bacterium, a form of E. coli , is responsible for up to 90 percent of urinary tract infections. It grips the urinary tract lining with tiny appendages, known as pili, which are coiled tightly like a spring. When urine flows, the coiled pili flex and bend like a telephone cord, allowing the bacteria to survive the large forces without breaking. For the study, published in Cell , Professor Gabriel Waksman (UCL/Birkbeck Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology) and his colleagues collaborated with Professor Ed Egelman (University of Virginia School of Medicine) to produce the most detailed depiction of the pili ever assembled. UCL and Birkbeck researchers performed submicroscopic imaging using a powerful electron microscope at Diamond Light Source, the results of which were assembled by Professor Egelman into a colorful portrait that has been impossible to create until now.