Bacterial adhesins - structure, function, and inhibition
Bacterial adhesion is key to pathogenesis. Adhesion enables initial host contact, colonization, and persistence, and the virulence factors involved often directly interact with receptors to elicit specific host responses. Working with autotransporter adhesins of Gram-negative bacteria, we take a comparative approach to tackle the problem, trying to learn from the similarities and differences of a specific class of adhesins in different bacterial pathogens that infect humans and animals. The long-term goals of our research are to understand what determines host and tissue specificity, and how we can use this knowledge to block adhesion to living and non-living surfaces, including medical implants.