Bladder Epithelial Cells (BEC)

Keith Porter,  discovered in the early 60’s that numerous rigid-looking plaques cover the entire apical surface of mammalian bladder epithelium. Later investigators found that these plaques consist of 2D crystals of hexagonally arranged 16-nm particles protruding luminally, hence the term “asymmetric unit membrane” (AUM) and identified and characterized several novel AUM subunits that are named uroplakins (urothelial plaque-associated proteins). The uroplakin Ia may serve as the urothelial receptor for the uropathogenic E. coli that causes >90% of urinary tract infections; that urinary bladder can be converted into a novel bladder bioreactor; that one canuse uroplakin promoter to generate a panel of transgenic mouse models for dissecting the molecular pathways of bladder tumorigenesis; and that uroplakin defects may lead to a number of important urinary tract defects.