Scientists have uncovered an unexpected biological factor hidden within the most common type of kidney stone.
A team of researchers at UCLA has reported an unexpected twist in a condition long treated as a crystal chemistry problem. In samples of the most common kidney stone, they found bacteria living inside the stone itself, suggesting that biology may be part of the process that helps these stones take shape.
The study, recently published in the peer-reviewed journal PNAS, points toward a new kind of treatment target. Instead of focusing only on the minerals that make up the stone, future strategies could also aim at the microbial activity associated with it, with the goal of preventing stones or making them easier to treat.
“This breakthrough challenges the long‑held assumption that these stones develop solely through chemical and physical processes, and instead shows that bacteria can reside inside stones and may actively contribute to their formation,” said Dr. Kymora Scotland, an assistant professor of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s co-senior author. “By uncovering this novel mechanism, the study opens the door to new therapeutic strategies that target the microbial environment of kidney stones.”
