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new vaccine strategy could wipe out utis: study
a study based on mice offers hope that a vaccine can ‘teach’ the bladder to more effectively fight bacteria.
mar 3 2021
2 minute read
researchers hope a vaccine may help put a stop to utis.
getty
urinary tract infections may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a group of researchers focused on teaching the body a better way to battle the bacteria responsible for so much discomfort.
the study, published in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences, has found a way to address the immune system’s inadequate response to the presence of e. coli bacteria in the bladder.
“there are currently no effective uti vaccines available for use in the u.s. in spite of the high prevalence of bladder infections,” said soman abraham , senior author of the paper and a grace kerby distinguished professor of pathology, immunology and molecular genetics and microbiology at duke university’s school of medicine. “our study describes the potential for a highly effective bladder vaccine that can not only eradicate residual bladder bacteria, but also prevent future infections.”
symptoms of a bladder infection — the most common form of uti — include not being able to urinate despite feeling an urgent need to do so, a burning sensation during urination, cloudy or foul-smelling urine or lower abdominal pain. if symptoms do not fade within a couple of days, a urine test and antibiotics may be prescribed. without treatment, a more serious infection can result if the bacteria migrates from the bladder to the kidney.
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researchers in the study noticed that when e. coli was introduced into the bladder of mice, the animals’ immune system dispatched repair cells to undo the damage caused by the infection but sent relatively few “warrior” cells to fight the bacteria itself. this underwhelming response allowed some bacteria in the bladder to live to fight another day.
“the new vaccine strategy attempts to ‘teach’ the bladder to more effectively fight off the attacking bacteria,” said lead author jianxuan wu. “by administering the vaccine directly into the bladder where the residual bacteria harbour, the highly effective vaccine antigen, in combination with an adjuvant known to boost the recruitment of bacterial clearing cells, performed better than traditional intramuscular vaccination.”
mice that received the bladder vaccination proved more effective at overcoming e. coli and wiping out residual bacteria in the bladder — evidence, the researchers said, of the importance of the location of vaccination. although the new vaccination strategy has not been tested on humans, researchers are confident the approval process will not present too much of an obstacle, abraham said.
“we are encouraged by these findings and since the individual components of the vaccine have previously been shown to be safe for human use, undertaking clinical studies to validate these findings could be done relatively quickly.”
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canadian women make around 500,000 visits per year to doctors seeking treatment for a pesky uti, according to the kidney foundation . the issue generally arises when e. coli living on the skin outside the body manages to enter the urethra, travel to the bladder and cause an infection. utis are more common in women than men because they have shorter urethras, meaning bacteria does not have as far to travel to dish out damage.
dave yasvinski is a writer with healthing.ca
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