Distribution of Pathogenicity Islands Among Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolates From Patients With Urinary Tract Infections

BACKGROUND AND ABJECTIVEUropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is one of the most common etiologic agent of urinary tract infection (UTI). The ability of Escherichia coli to cause UTI is associated with specific virulence determinants, which are encoded by pathogenicity islands (PAIs). This study aimed to investigate the distribution of PAIs among the UPEC isolates collected from patients with UTIs.MATERIALS AND METHODSIn this study, a total of ۱۰۰ E. coli isolates were collected from patients with UTIs using standard microbiological methods. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used for the identification of the main PAIs of UPEC according to insertion sites and virulence markers.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONIn total, PAI IV۵۳۶, PAI III۵۳۶, PAI I۵۳۶, PAI, IICFT۰۷۳, PAI ICFT۰۷۳, PAI IIJ۹۶, PAI II۵۳۶, and PAI IJ۹۶ were detected in ۲۳, ۲۲, ۱۷, ۱۷, ۱۳, ۱۱, ۱۱, and ۸% of isolates. PAI combinations were identified in ۱۵% of isolates.CONCLUSIONThe results showed that PAIs of UPEC are not strain-specific and some strains can carry the PAIs associated with the prototype strains of UPEC simultaneously.