UPEC hemolysin: more than just for making holes.

During acute cystitis, uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) induce bladder epithelial cell exfoliation, which eliminates infected cells and promotes UPEC dissemination. Dhakal and Mulvey (2012) uncover the mechanism that induces this exfoliation and reintroduce the pore-forming toxin, hemolysin, as an effector that surprisingly targets multiple host pathways to facilitate infection.