title: The nature of immune responses to urinary tract infections.
abstract: The urinary tract is constantly exposed to microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract, but generally the urinary tract resists infection by gut microorganisms. This resistance to infection is mainly ascribed to the versatility of the innate immune defences in the urinary tract, as the adaptive immune responses are limited particularly when only the lower urinary tract is infected. In recent years, as the strengths and weaknesses of the immune system of the urinary tract have emerged and as the virulence attributes of uropathogens are recognized, several potentially effective and unconventional strategies to contain or prevent urinary tract infections have emerged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.|Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.|Department of Immunology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.|Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore 169857, Singapore.
authors.forename: Soman N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Abraham
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Yuxuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Miao
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000276:immunology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000276:immunology*; D018448:Models, Immunological; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence / Q000276:immunology