Defective antiadherence activity of bladder extracts from patients with recurrent urinary tract infection

A substantial body of animal work indicates that the initial first line defense against invading microorganisms in the urinary tract is the antiadherence activity of the surface mucin layer. Previous work has demonstrated that bacterial adherence to anion exchange resin can be used as a model for adherence to the mucin deficient rabbit bladder. This anion exchange resin adherence model can also be used as a rapid screen for potential antiadherence agents. In vitro saline extracts of bladder mucosa from various mammalian species including man have been shown to inhibit bacterial adherence to both anion exchange resin and the mucin deficient rabbit bladder. The present report investigates the ability of in vivo saline bladder washes from several groups of patients to inhibit bacterial adherence to anion exchange resin. This has an advantage over other methods of quantitation or visualization of mucin since it is the ability of the bladder extract to prevent bacterial adherence, and not merely the quantity of mucin, that determines the effectiveness of the mucin lining in preventing bacterial attachment. Bladder washes from patients with recurrent urinary tract infection were significantly less potent at inhibiting bacterial adherence than extracts from other groups of patients. This decreased functional antiadherence activity of bladder extracts may help explain the frequency of urinary tract infection in this group of patients.