@article{paudel_kumar_rogers_saini_patial_kulkarni_2024, title={The NLRP3 Inflammasome Is Dispensable in Methicillin-Resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> Urinary Tract Infection}, volume={13}, ISSN={["2076-0817"]}, DOI={10.3390/pathogens13020106}, abstractNote={The NLRP3 inflammasome is a cytoplasmic complex that senses molecular patterns from pathogens or damaged cells to trigger an innate immune defense response marked by the production of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 and an inflammatory death called pyroptosis. The NLRP3 inflammasome is activated in the urinary tract by a variety of infectious and non-infectious insults. In this study, we investigated the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome by comparing the pathophysiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ascending UTI in wild-type (WT) and Nlrp3−/− mice. The difference in the bacterial burden detected in the urinary tracts of MRSA-infected WT and Nlrp3−/− was not statistically significant at 6, 24, and 72 h post-infection (hpi). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines as well as the numbers of granulocytes recruited to bladder and kidney tissues at 24 hpi were also similar between Nlrp3−/− and WT mice. The histopathological analysis of MRSA-infected bladder and kidney sections from Nlrp3−/− and WT mice showed similar inflammation. Overall, these results suggest that MRSA-induced urinary NLRP3 activity does not play a role in the pathophysiology of the ascending UTI.}, number={2}, journal={PATHOGENS}, author={Paudel, Santosh and Kumar, Rahul and Rogers, Kenneth A. and Saini, Yogesh and Patial, Sonika and Kulkarni, Ritwij}, year={2024}, month={Feb} }