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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Nov 10.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Opin Microbiol. 2008 Feb 1;11(1):66–73. doi: 10.1016/j.mib.2007.12.001

Figure 2. Cooption of fusiform vesicles of superficial BECs by UPEC.

Figure 2

(A) Fusiform vesicles are intracellular vesicles that regulate bladder volume. When bladder volume increases as urine collects, fusiform vesicles collapse into luminal surface membrane providing the necessary membrane. (B) Proposed model of how harboring of UPEC within fusiform vesicles sustains bladder infections. Once UPEC enter the lumen of bladder, they rapidly multiply in the urine. A fraction of these bacteria gain access into fusiform vesicles. When urine is voided all bacteria are eliminated except those within fusiform vesicles. Once urine collects in the bladder, bacteria remerge from collapsing fusiform vesicles and rapidly multiply to previous levels.