{"doi":"10.64898/2026.02.05.703977","title":"Liquid-Infused Silicone Catheters Reduce Fungal Burden and Inflammation in\n                  <i>Candidozyma auris</i>\n                  Bladder Infections","abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title>\n                <jats:p>\n                  <jats:italic>Candidozyma auris</jats:italic>\n                  is a high-priority, emerging fungal pathogen frequently isolated from urine in healthcare settings. These isolates are often associated with indwelling urinary catheters, a primary risk factor for catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Despite its clinical prevalence, the mechanisms of\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  colonization and pathogenesis within the bladder remain poorly understood. In this study, we screened\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  isolates from diverse clades using an\n                  <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>\n                  biofilm model and\n                  <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>\n                  murine models of uncomplicated UTI and CAUTI. While\n                  <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>\n                  biofilm formation varied among isolates, the presence of a catheter\n                  <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>\n                  significantly enhanced fungal burden in the bladder. Notably, one strain (B11103) caused rapid systemic dissemination and mortality. To address this, we evaluated a liquid-infused silicone (LIS)-catheter coating, which has previously shown efficacy against other uropathogens. The LIS-coating significantly reduced\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  attachment\n                  <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>\n                  and, crucially, mitigated fungal burden on both the catheter and bladder tissue\n                  <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>\n                  across all tested strains. For the hyper-virulent B11103 strain, LIS-catheters also significantly reduced dissemination to the kidneys and bloodstream. Furthermore, cytokine analysis revealed that\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  CAUTI upregulates IL-6, CSF3, and CXCL1; notably, this damaging inflammatory response was dampened by the LIS-catheter. These findings demonstrate that catheterization potentiates\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  pathogenicity and identify LIS-catheters as a promising, antimicrobial-sparing strategy to prevent colonization, systemic spread, and inflammation during\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  CAUTI.\n                </jats:p>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>IMPORTANCE</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    This research addresses the critical public health challenge posed by the emergence of\n                    <jats:italic>Candidozyma auris,</jats:italic>\n                    elucidating its pathogenesis in the urinary tract, the second most common yet understudied reservoir. Here, we find that\n                    <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                    exhibits plasticity in its ability to form biofilms in urine and cause uncomplicated UTIs and catheter-associated UTIs. Importantly, we show that our liquid-infused silicone (LIS)-catheters effectively disrupt this cycle by reducing fungal burden, preventing systemic spread, and dampening the damaging host inflammatory response. This work establishes the urinary tract as a critical niche for systemic entry and provides a validated strategy for infection prevention.\n                  </jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>","journal":null,"year":null,"id":629037,"datarank":0.10397207708399181,"base_score":0.6931471805599453,"endowment":0.6931471805599453,"self_citation_contribution":0.10397207708399181,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.10397207708399181,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":1,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1628946,"name":"Hope Akegbe","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1150601,"name":"Caitlin Howell","orcid":"0000-0002-7560-6942","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":871299,"name":"Felipe H. Santiago‐Tirado","orcid":"0000-0002-6453-4904","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":302393,"name":"Ana L. Flores‐Mireles","orcid":"0000-0003-4610-4246","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1301688,"name":"Alyssa Ann La Bella","orcid":"0000-0001-7396-9670","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Liquid-Infused Silicone Catheters Reduce Fungal Burden and Inflammation in\n                  <i>Candidozyma auris</i>\n                  Bladder Infections","abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title>\n                <jats:p>\n                  <jats:italic>Candidozyma auris</jats:italic>\n                  is a high-priority, emerging fungal pathogen frequently isolated from urine in healthcare settings. These isolates are often associated with indwelling urinary catheters, a primary risk factor for catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs). Despite its clinical prevalence, the mechanisms of\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  colonization and pathogenesis within the bladder remain poorly understood. In this study, we screened\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  isolates from diverse clades using an\n                  <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>\n                  biofilm model and\n                  <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>\n                  murine models of uncomplicated UTI and CAUTI. While\n                  <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>\n                  biofilm formation varied among isolates, the presence of a catheter\n                  <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>\n                  significantly enhanced fungal burden in the bladder. Notably, one strain (B11103) caused rapid systemic dissemination and mortality. To address this, we evaluated a liquid-infused silicone (LIS)-catheter coating, which has previously shown efficacy against other uropathogens. The LIS-coating significantly reduced\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  attachment\n                  <jats:italic>in vitro</jats:italic>\n                  and, crucially, mitigated fungal burden on both the catheter and bladder tissue\n                  <jats:italic>in vivo</jats:italic>\n                  across all tested strains. For the hyper-virulent B11103 strain, LIS-catheters also significantly reduced dissemination to the kidneys and bloodstream. Furthermore, cytokine analysis revealed that\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  CAUTI upregulates IL-6, CSF3, and CXCL1; notably, this damaging inflammatory response was dampened by the LIS-catheter. These findings demonstrate that catheterization potentiates\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  pathogenicity and identify LIS-catheters as a promising, antimicrobial-sparing strategy to prevent colonization, systemic spread, and inflammation during\n                  <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                  CAUTI.\n                </jats:p>\n                <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>IMPORTANCE</jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    This research addresses the critical public health challenge posed by the emergence of\n                    <jats:italic>Candidozyma auris,</jats:italic>\n                    elucidating its pathogenesis in the urinary tract, the second most common yet understudied reservoir. Here, we find that\n                    <jats:italic>C. auris</jats:italic>\n                    exhibits plasticity in its ability to form biofilms in urine and cause uncomplicated UTIs and catheter-associated UTIs. Importantly, we show that our liquid-infused silicone (LIS)-catheters effectively disrupt this cycle by reducing fungal burden, preventing systemic spread, and dampening the damaging host inflammatory response. This work establishes the urinary tract as a critical niche for systemic entry and provides a validated strategy for infection prevention.\n                  </jats:p>\n                </jats:sec>","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"19767382","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":null,"authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[],"oa_status":"green","license":"https://www.biorxiv.org/about/FAQ#license","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12889896/","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.64898/2026.02.05.703977","host_type":"publisher"}],"fields_of_study":[],"mesh_terms":[],"keywords":[],"sdg_mappings":[],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-08-05T16:11:16.969806Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}