How does uropathogenic Escherichia coli establish itself in the hostile environment of the urinary tract to cause infection?

A recent article published in FEMS Microbes by Haris Antypas and colleagues from the Richter-Dahlfors Laboratory has now shed light on this. Their advanced organ-on-chip technology helped reveal the mechanism of adhesion and colony formation under shear stress conditions in the urinary tract. Check out the image below to see how EbbaBiolight was able to show the presence of biofilm in growing microcolonies

Image: 🔬ECM detection using fluorescent microscopy (E. coli biofilm assay at 4 days) (A) with EbbaBiolight 680 (red) and (B) without EbbaBiolight 680. Antypas et al., Fig. 6AB (CC BY 4.0)