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Bacterial adherence

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Conclusion

It is apparent that the process of bacterial adhesion can be a complex phenomenon and that more than one mechanism may be operative. A recent study has revealed that enteroinvasive strains ofEscherichia coli can adhere to cultured epithelial cells by means of type 1 fimbriae, MRHA adhesins or a glycocalyx (38). It is not known which of these structures is the most important in vivo. Similar considerations apply to the adhesion of uropathogens in that various mechanisms of attachment can be demonstrated in vitro using subcultured bacteria, but these observations do not necessarily reflect what occurs in the human bladder. The finding that bacteria attached to uroepithelial cells in the urine deposit of patients with UTI are a) non-fimbriate, and b) enclosed in a glycocalyx, provides strong evidence that glycocalyces are more important than MRHA adhesins in mediating an interaction between uropathogens and the bladder wall. Several steps may occur in the adhesion process, and in future studies we might do well to consider the physico-chemical forces of attraction and repulsion which may operate at a molecular level at discrete regions of bacterial glycocalyces, the bladder mucin layer and uroepithelial cell membranes.

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  1. Department of Renal Medicine, University of Wales College of Medicine, K.R.U.F. Institute, Royal Infirmary, CF2 ISZ, Cardiff, Wales, UK

    M. J. Harber

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Harber, M.J. Bacterial adherence. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. 4, 257–261 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02013648

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