Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is most frequently caused by uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), which ascends from the bladder to the kidneys during a urinary tract infection. Patients with APN have been reported to have reduced renal concentration capacity under challenged conditions, polyuria, and increased aquaporin-2 (AQP2) excretion in the urine. We have recently shown increased AQP2 accumulation in the plasma membrane in cell cultures exposed to E. coli lysates and in the apical plasma membrane of inner medullary collecting ducts in a 5-day APN mouse model. This study aimed to investigate if AQP2 expression in host cells increases UPEC infection efficiency and to identify specific bacterial components that mediate AQP2 plasma membrane insertion. As the transepithelial water permeability in the collecting duct is codetermined by AQP3 and AQP4, we also investigated whether AQP3 and AQP4 localization is altered in the APN mouse model. We show that AQP2 expression does not increase UPEC infection efficiency and that AQP2 was targeted to the plasma membrane in AQP2-expressing cells in response to the two pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan. In contrast to AQP2, the subcellular localizations of AQP1, AQP3, and AQP4 were unaffected both in lysate-incubated cell cultures and in the APN mouse model. Our finding demonstrated that cellular exposure to lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan can trigger the insertion of AQP2 in the plasma membrane revealing a new regulatory pathway for AQP2 plasma membrane translocation, which may potentially be exploited in intervention strategies.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Acute pyelonephritis (APN) is associated with reduced renal concentration capacity and increased aquaporin-2 (AQP2) excretion. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) mediates changes in the subcellular localization of AQP2 and we show that in vitro, these changes could be elicited by two pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), namely, lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan. UPEC infection was unaltered by AQP2 expression and the other renal AQPs (AQP1, AQP3, and AQP4) were unaltered in APN.
Keywords: AQP; acute pyelonephritis; aquaporin; infection; kidney.