Urinary tract infections (UTIs) caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are one of the most common and recurrent infections worldwide. More than 50% of women will suffer at least one UTI in their lifetime and despite effective antibiotic treatment, over 50% of patients will experience at least one recurrence within a year. These findings suggest that current treatment regimens are not ideal. So far, most strategies to combat infectious diseases have been designed to act against the pathogen. As the host response is integral in determining the infection outcome, manipulation of the host represents an innovative strategy to fight UTIs. To develop such therapeutic strategies, our research group aims to better understand urinary tract infections from the host perspective, deciphering the role and impact that specific host factors and/or pathways have on the outcome of the infection.

We use adult stem cell derived-organoids and organoid-based models to closely mimic the natural infection site and combine them with miRNome profiling, single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), and gain- and loss-of-function assays to identify and functionally characterize specific host factors and/or pathways controlling UPEC infection.

 Advanced organoid-based models

The vast majority of UTIs occur in the bladder. To closely mimic the in-vivo infection setting of urinary tract infections, we use adult stem cell-derived bladder organoids. These organoids are generated from adult stem cells present in the bladder epithelium and can be used as a source of expandable primary cells to establish other in-vitro models, such as 2D monolayers or more advanced tissue engineering models. Because these cells can differentiate and self-organize as in the organ in vivo, they represent a very powerful tool for infection biology.