Fig 1. Phenolic compounds can inhibit host cell invasion by UPEC.

(A) Skeletal structures of the phenolic compounds used in this study are depicted, with key dietary sources indicated via text and illustrations. (B and C) BECs were pretreated with CAPE (25 μg/mL), resveratrol (22.9 μg/mL), EGCG (25 μg/mL), catechin (25 μg/mL), or carrier alone (0.1% DMSO) for 1 h prior to infection with UTI89. Cells were then incubated for 2 h in the continued presence of the compounds, followed by a final 2-h incubation in medium containing gentamicin. Graphs indicate relative numbers of (B) cell-associated bacteria present prior to the addition of gentamicin and (C) intracellular, gentamicin-protected bacteria calculated as a fraction of the cell-associated bacteria. Data are normalized to DMSO-treated controls, with bars denoting mean values from at least three independent experiments performed in triplicate. P values were determined by Student’s t tests.