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Updated: Feb 27, 2026
An In Vitro Bladder Model of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection
Published on: June 24, 2025
Simple Catheter Biofilm Flow Model: Klebsiella Phages Disrupt E. coli Biofilms on Urinary Catheters Under Static and
Hoda Bseikri1, Slawomir Michniewski2, Eduardo Goicoechea Serrano3
1School of Life Sciences, Gibbet Hill Campus, The University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
Background:
Biofilms pose a significant challenge in medical settings, leading to persistent infections. Phage therapy shows promise in biofilm eradication, but its effectiveness under dynamic flow conditions remains unclear.
Methods:
We used two novel phages isolated on Klebsiella, Llofrudd and Samara, and characterized their genomes, host range, virulence, and impact on biofilms. In this study, we built a simple catheterized bladder model with flow to investigate the impact of phage treatment on biofilm viability in a flow-based catheter model.
Results:
Our analyses demonstrate that phages Llofrudd and Samara are the same species and infect a limited number of strains (3/221), but crucially across three species: Klebsiella aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and E. coli.
Conclusions:
Phage treatment significantly reduced E. coli biofilm viability in catheters both in static conditions and under flow and liberated bacteria from the biofilms, highlighting the potential of phage therapy as an intervention strategy for catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI).
Insights
Phage therapy effectively reduced E. coli biofilms in a catheter model under flow conditions. This demonstrates phage therapy
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacteriology
- Biofilm research
Background:
- Bacterial biofilms present persistent infection challenges in healthcare.
- Phage therapy is a potential biofilm eradication strategy, but its efficacy under dynamic flow requires investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of two novel phages, Llofrudd and Samara, against Klebsiella biofilms.
- To assess phage impact on biofilm viability within a flow-based catheter model.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and genomic characterization of novel phages Llofrudd and Samara.
- Construction of a flow-based catheterized bladder model.
- Assessment of phage efficacy on E. coli biofilm viability under static and flow conditions.
Main Results:
- Phages Llofrudd and Samara were identified as the same species, infecting limited strains across Klebsiella aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and E. coli.
- Phage treatment significantly reduced E. coli biofilm viability in catheters.
- Phage therapy promoted bacterial liberation from biofilms.
Conclusions:
- Phage therapy shows significant potential for treating catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs).
- The study validates phage therapy's efficacy in a dynamic, flow-based biofilm model.
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