Common anti-haemostatic medications increase the severity of systemic infection by uropathogenic Escherichia coli.

Vi L T Tran, Elinor Hortle, Warwick J Britton, Stefan H Oehlers

Microbiological research 2022 Jan

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Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) causes urinary tract infections that can result in sepsis. The haemostatic system is protective in the pyelonephritis stage of ascending UPEC infection, but the role of the haemostatic system has not been investigated during sepsis. Here we utilize a zebrafish-UPEC systemic infection model to visualize infection-induced coagulation and examine the effects of commonly prescribed anti-haemostatic medications on the infection severity. Treatment of systemically infected zebrafish with warfarin, aspirin, or ticagrelor reduced host survival, while stabilization of clots with aminocaproic acid increased host survival. Anti-haemostatic drug treatment increased UPEC burden. Our findings provide evidence that commonly prescribed anti-haemostatic medications may worsen the outcome of severe UPEC infection. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Citation

Vi L T Tran, Elinor Hortle, Warwick J Britton, Stefan H Oehlers. Common anti-haemostatic medications increase the severity of systemic infection by uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Microbiological research. 2022 Jan;254:126918