fig1

Figure 1. Pathogenesis of bacteria- and fungi-induced UTIs (Created in Biorender). UTIs can be divided into three stages. In the first stage, uropathogens invade and colonize the urethra^[5-7]. In the second stage, they invade the urinary bladder and form biofilms^{[11,12,20-22]}, where uropathogen-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) facilitate invasion, colonization, nutrient acquisition, and immune modulation and evasion^{[13-19,27-33]}. The third stage involves biofilm dispersion and propagation of uropathogens to the kidneys via the ureters and eventually to the bloodstream, causing systemic infection^[12,24-26]. Created in BioRender. Chau, C. (2025) ( https://BioRender.com/st81pck). UTIs: Urinary tract infections; EVs: extracellular vesicles; IBCs: intracellular bacterial communities.