Genetics of innate immunity and UTI susceptibility

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common, costly and therapeutically challenging. Defining why certain individuals are protected from UTI while others have severe, recurrent infections has long been difficult, but progress is now being made, encouraging new approaches to risk assessment and therapy. Here, the authors describe how the innate immune system controls host resistance to UTI and how genetic variations in innate immunity affect UTI susceptibility.