title: Why Serological Responses during Cystitis are Limited.
abstract: The high frequency of urinary tract infections (UTIs), some of which appear to be endogenous relapses rather than reinfections by new isolates, point to defects in the host's memory immune response. It has been known for many decades that, whereas kidney infections evoked an antibody response to the infecting bacteria, infections limited to the bladder failed to do so. We have identified the existence of a broadly immunosuppressive transcriptional program associated with the bladder, but not the kidneys, during infection of the urinary tract that is dependent on bladder mast cells. This involves the localized secretion of IL-10 and results in the suppression of humoral immune responses in the bladder. Mast cell-mediated immune suppression could suggest a role for these cells in critically balancing the needs to clear infections with the imperative to prevent harmful immune reactions in the host.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. haewoong.choi@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Hae Woong
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. soman.abraham@duke.edu.|Immunology Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. soman.abraham@duke.edu.|Molecular Genetics & Microbiology Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. soman.abraham@duke.edu.|Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore 169857, Singapore. soman.abraham@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Soman N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Abraham
keywords: cystitis; defects in memory response; mast cells; recurrent UTI; serology