The bladder is not sterile: History and current discoveries on the urinary microbiome Journal Article


Authors: Thomas-White, K; Brady, M.; Wolfe, A. J.; Mueller, E. R.
Article Title: The bladder is not sterile: History and current discoveries on the urinary microbiome
Abstract: In the human body, there are 10 bacterial cells for every one human cell. This fact highlights the importance of the National institutes of Health's initiative to map the human microbiome. The Human Microbiome Project was the first large-scale mapping of the human microbiome of 5 body sites: GI tract, mouth, vagina, skin and nasal cavity using culture-independent methods. The bladder was not originally tested because it was considered to be sterile and there were complexities regarding sample collection. Over the last couple years our team along with other investigators have shown that a urinary microbiome exists and for most individuals it plays a protective role.
Journal Title: Current bladder dysfunction reports
Volume: 11
Issue: 1
ISSN: 1931-7212; 1931-7212
Publisher: Unknown  
Date Published: 2016
Start Page: 18
End Page: 24
Language: ENG
DOI/URL:
Notes: LR: 20160519; GR: R21 DK097435/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States; JID: 101299193; NIHMS756605; OTO: NOTNLM; PMCR: 2017/03/01 00:00; 2016/01/30 [epublish]; ppublish