BACTERIAL LECTINS AS MASTER MANIPULATORS OF HOST CELL PHYSIOLOGY

摘要

The bacterium P. aeruginosa emerged as a major human opportunistic pathogen during the past decades, maybe as a consequence of its resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants. It is able to cause severe infections of the respiratory and urinary tract, skin and eye, predominantly in immune compromised patients. P. aeruginosa has a vast range of virulence factors, amongst them, the two bacterial lectins LecA and LecB, which, by virtue of their sugar binding, contribute to the pathogens' host specificity and adherence to host cells. Whereas LecA is galactophilic, LecB displays a very high affinity to L-fucose.