title: Physical stress and bacterial colonization.
abstract: Bacterial surface colonizers are subject to a variety of physical stresses. During the colonization of human epithelia such as on the skin or the intestinal mucosa, bacteria mainly have to withstand the mechanical stress of being removed by fluid flow, scraping, or epithelial turnover. To that end, they express a series of molecules to establish firm attachment to the epithelial surface, such as fibrillar protrusions (pili) and surface-anchored proteins that bind to human matrix proteins. In addition, some bacteria--in particular gut and urinary tract pathogens--use internalization by epithelial cells and other methods such as directed inhibition of epithelial turnover to ascertain continued association with the epithelial layer. Furthermore, many bacteria produce multilayered agglomerations called biofilms with a sticky extracellular matrix, providing additional protection from removal. This review will give an overview over the mechanisms human bacterial colonizers have to withstand physical stresses with a focus on bacterial adhesion.
authors.affiliation: Pathogen Molecular Genetics Section, Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Otto
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D018441:Biofilms; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000382:microbiology; D012867:Skin / Q000382:microbiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014551:Urinary Tract / Q000382:microbiology
keywords: Escherichia coli; Helicobacter pylori; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus; Streptococcus; adhesion