UREASE--MOLECULAR STUDIES & ROLE IN PATHOGENESIS

尿路感染（UTI）在社区和医院都很常见 设置. 仅在女性人口中，感染率为 在美国每年约6%。 UTI是最常见的 医院感染的形式和革兰氏阴性菌的最普遍原因 菌血症及其伴随的由于脓毒症引起的高死亡率。 有 许多与UTI相关的细菌物种，其中大多数 属于肠杆菌科。 这些泌尿道 病原体共享表达多种免疫调节因子中的至少一种的能力， 毒力因子，包括粘连，溶血素，需氧菌素， 尿素酶;后者是本研究的重点。 尿素酶产生a 在泌尿道的影响，包括肾脏的形成， 和膀胱结石，通常由鸟粪石组成， 磷酸盐沉淀。 产尿素酶的微生物通常与 医院获得性UTI，长期导管插入患者可以 泌尿道中有一种以上的溶脲细菌 病原体 肺炎克雷伯氏菌通常与两个社区有关 获得性和医院获得性UTI。 本研究的目的有两个： i）确定脲酶活性是否增强K.肺炎 在UTI和ii）在分子和遗传水平上研究尿素酶 致病性K.肺炎分离株。 这项工作应该有助于 阐明尿素酶在UTI中的作用，并定义一个未表征的K。 肺炎性状 除了泌尿道病原体，尿素酶已被 在其他细菌病原体中作为毒力因子， 幽门弯曲杆菌和解脲脲原体。 对K. pneumoniae尿素酶和K. pneumoniae尿素酶基因将提供一个基础 对其他菌株的尿素酶和尿素酶位点进行比较研究。

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common in both the community and hospital setting. In the female population alone, the rate of infection is approximately 6% per year in the United States. UTI is the most prevalent form of nosocomial infection and the most prevalent cause of gram negative bacteremia with its attendant high mortality rate due to sepsis. There are a number of bacterial species associated with UTI, the majority of which are members of the Enterobacteriaceae family. These urinary tract pathogens share the ability to express at least one of a number of virulence factors that include adhesions, hemolysins, aerobactin, and urease; the latter of these is the focus of this study. Urease produces a number of effects in the urinary tract, including the formation of renal and bladder stones, usually composed of struvite, a magnesium ammonium phosphate precipitate. Urease producing organisms are commonly associated with hospital acquired UTI, and chronically catheterized individuals can have urinary tracts colonized with more than one ureolytic bacterial pathogen. Klebsiella pneumomiae is often associated with both community acquired and hospital acquired UTI. The purpose of this study is twofold: i) to determine if urease activity enhances the virulence of K. pneumoniae in a UTI and ii) to study at the molecular and genetic level the urease locus of a uropathogenic K. pneumoniae isolate. This work should help elucidate the role of urease in UTI and define an uncharacterized K. pneumoniae trait. In addition to urinary tract pathogens, urease has been implicated as a virulence factor in other bacterial pathogens such as Campylobacter pylori and Ureaplasma urealyticum. An understanding of K. pneumoniae urease and the K. pneumoniae urease genes will provide a basis for comparative study of urease and the urease loci of these other strains.