Fig. 1.

P. mirabilis invades the urothelium, but infrequently forms IBCs. (A–D) Representative images of P. mirabilis (A and B) and UPEC (C and D) attachment and invasion. Bacteria (green), UPIIIa (red), and DNA (blue) show localization of the bacteria relative to the apical surface of the urothelium. (Scale bars, 10 µm.) (B and D) A regional view of the bladder section containing the 10 hpi IBC shown in A and C, respectively. (Scale bars, 100 µm.) L, bladder lumen. (E and F) Quantification of P. mirabilis (E) and UPEC (F) bladder invasion at 0.5 hpi following either ex vivo gentamicin treatment (Gent) or mock treatment (Mock) (n = 6–8). *P < 0.05. (G) Size of P. mirabilis and UPEC IBCs. Every observed IBC was measured from P. mirabilis-infected sections, as well as from UPEC-infected sections at 6 and 24 hpi. However, due to the high number of IBCs in UPEC-infected mice at 10 hpi, sizes were determined from two sections, each from a different mouse. See Table 1 for details on the IBC frequency relative to the number of sections and mice. (H and I) Quantification of the cfu detected during P. mirabilis infection of the bladder (H) and urine (I). Each data point represents an individual animal.