Mechanical Cues in the Lower Urinary Tract: How Cells and Bacteria Sense and Respond

The Lower Urinary Tract (LUT) is continuously subjected to dynamic mechanical forces, including shear stress (generated by urine flow), pressure and cyclic stretch associated with bladder filling and emptying. These forces actively shape biological function by regulating mechanosensation and mechanotransduction processes in both host tissues and microorganisms. Increasing evidence shows that mechanical cues influence key cellular behaviors such as barrier integrity, contractility, immune responses, and tissue remodeling, while also modulating bacterial adhesion, colonization, and persistence. Importantly, the urinary tract represents a unique biomechanical environment where host cells and bacteria coexist and interact under constant physical stress.Alterations in mechanical forces, or in the ability of host cells and microorganisms to sense and respond to these mechanical cues, may influence susceptibility to urinary obstruction, chronic inflammation, recurrent infections, and lower urinary tract dysfunction (resulting in measurable changes in urodynamic function). A deeper understanding of how mechanical forces govern host–microbe interactions within the lower urinary tract, while drawing on relevant upper urinary tract mechanisms as supporting or comparative context, is essential for developing innovative therapeutic and preventive strategies in urology.This Research Topic aims to fill a critical knowledge gap regarding how mechanical forces regulate host–bacteria interactions and mechanotransduction processes under both physiological and pathological conditions with a particular emphasis on the Lower Urinary Tract. Despite recent technological advances, including organ-on-chip systems, advanced imaging, and biophysical and computational modelling (that enable precise investigation and quantification of mechanical environments) their application to the urological system remains limited. The goal is to bring together interdisciplinary studies that elucidate how host cells, tissues and associated microbial populations within the LUT, sense, transduce, and respond to mechanical stimuli in both physiological and pathological contexts. Contributions addressing the upper urinary tract, including the ureter and kidney, are also welcomed when they provide complementary insights that advance our understanding of host–microbe mechanobiology in the LUT. Specifically, this Research Topic aims to investigate how alterations in mechanical forces and their sensing by both host cells and bacteria contribute to disease development and persistence. It also aims to highlight innovative experimental and computational modelling approaches that can help bridge the gap between fundamental mechanobiology and clinical application, particularly in the context of host–pathogen dynamics and mechanically driven disease mechanisms. By integrating insights from cell biology, microbiology, biomedical engineering, and urology, this Research Topic will provide a platform to advance mechanobiology-informed diagnostic and therapeutic strategies targeting both tissue function and host–microbe interactions.This Research Topic welcomes contributions that investigate the role of mechanical cues in regulating bacterial, cellular and tissue function within the Lower Urinary Tract. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to: mechanotransduction pathways in urothelial, smooth muscle, suburothelial interstitial/fibroblast, endothelial, and resident immune cell populations governing barrier function, contractility, and sensory signaling. We particularly encourage studies integrating biomedical engineering and mechanobiological approaches including fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, fluid structure interaction, microfluidics, organ-on-chip platforms, and other advanced experimental and computational tools, to improve understanding of the mechanisms underlying lower urinary tract physiology and pathophysiology.We invite submissions of Original Research Articles, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, and Perspective articles. Interdisciplinary work that bridges basic science and clinical relevance, as well as studies proposing novel therapeutic or diagnostic strategies based on mechanobiological principles, are especially welcome. Topic editors: Francesco Clavica, Ali Hashemi Gheinani, Dario Carugo, Ramon Garcia Maset Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/80602/mechanical-cues-in-the-lower-urinary-tract-how-cells-and-bacteria-sense-and-respond