Adherence of urease-induced crystals to rat bladder epithelium following acute infection with different uropathogenic microorganisms.

Apart from urine supersaturation with respect to struvite and calcium phosphate, crystal retention is considered to be necessary for the formation of infection stones. This study was performed to investigate the role of the mucous coat in rat bladders in the adhesion of sterile urease-induced crystals and to determine to what extent the adhesion was influenced by infection. Elimination of the mucous coat with 0.1 M HCl increased the adherence of crystals six times compared to that in bladders with an intact mucous coat. Infection with Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, enterococci and Ureaplasma urealyticum increased the adherence six, five, four and two times, respectively. Injury to the mucous coat may thus be one mechanism by which microorganisms can contribute to the formation of infection stones in the urinary tract.