Extracellular DNA (ecDNA) is a promising candidate marker for the early diagnosis and monitoring of urinary tract infections (UTIs). The aim of our study is to describe the dynamics of ecDNA in the plasma and urine of patients with urosepsis as well as in a mouse model of UTI. Samples of blood and urine were collected from adult patients with UTIs and obstructive uropathy (n = 36) during the first 3 days at the hospital and during a follow-up. Bacterial burden and urinary ecDNA were evaluated in a mouse UTI model (n = 26) at baseline; 24, 48, and 72 h after UTI induction; and 7 days after UTI induction. The plasma ecDNA did not change during urosepsis, but the plasma DNase activity increased significantly at the follow-up. The urinary ecDNA decreased significantly during hospitalization and remained low until the follow-up (90% lower vs. admission). No change was seen in the urinary DNase activity. C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin are positively correlated with plasma and urinary ecDNA. A UTI caused sepsis in 23% of mice. The urinary ecDNA decreased by three-fold and remained low until day 7 post-infection. Urinary bacterial burden is correlated with urinary ecDNA. Urinary ecDNA is a potential non-invasive marker for monitoring the effects of treatment during urosepsis and is related to UTI progression in the experimental animal model.
Keywords: SIRS; biomarker; cell-free DNA; disease monitoring; urinary tract infection; urosepsis.