title: Bladder defense mechanism.
abstract: In order for micro-organisms to infect the urinary tract they must adhere to the vesical mucosa so that they remain after voiding. Experiments in our laboratory demonstrated that the bladder has a self-protective mechanism capable of preventing bacterial adherence to the surface. Histochemical staining demonstrated that this substance is a mucopolysaccharide. Treatment of the mucosa with acid disrupted the protective layer and resulted in a 20 to 100-fold increase in bacterial adherence. Within 24 hours this layer reappeared and binding was again reduced to normal. This phenomenon was not related to microbial species or metabolic activity.
mesh_terms: D000268:Adhesiveness; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006851:Hydrochloric Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000382:microbiology; D011817:Rabbits; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D006851:Hydrochloric Acid