title: Fatal attraction: how bacterial adhesins affect host signaling and what we can learn from them.
abstract: The ability of bacterial species to colonize and infect host organisms is critically dependent upon their capacity to adhere to cellular surfaces of the host. Adherence to cell surfaces is known to be essential for the activation and delivery of certain virulence factors, but can also directly affect host cell signaling to aid bacterial spread and survival. In this review we will discuss the recent advances in the field of bacterial adhesion, how we are beginning to unravel the effects adhesins have on host cell signaling, and how these changes aid the bacteria in terms of their survival and evasion of immune responses. Finally, we will highlight how the exploitation of bacterial adhesins may provide new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of a wide range of bacterial infections.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. d.stones@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Stones
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. a.krachler@bham.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Anne-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Krachler
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D016023:Integrins