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Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common bacterial infectious disease in humans, and strains of uropathogenic
Escherichia coli
(UPEC) are the most frequent cause of UTIs. During infection, UPEC must cope with a variety of stressful conditions in the urinary tract. Here, we demonstrate that the small RNA (sRNA) RyfA of UPEC strains is required for resistance to oxidative and osmotic stresses. Transcriptomic analysis of the
ryfA
mutant showed changes in expression of genes associated with general stress responses, metabolism, biofilm formation and genes coding for cell surface proteins. Inactivation of
ryfA
in UPEC strain CFT073 decreased urinary tract colonization in mice and the
ryfA
mutant also had reduced production of type 1 and P fimbriae (pili), adhesins which are known to be important for UTI. Furthermore, loss of
ryfA
also reduced UPEC survival in human macrophages. Thus,
ryfA
plays a key regulatory role in UPEC adaptation to stress, which contributes to UTI and survival in macrophages.