Microbial Surface Components and Toxins in Relation to Pathogenesis

The meeting on "Microbial Surface Components and Toxins in Relation to Pathogenesis" was held on May 15-19, 1989, in the Mitzpe Rachel guesthouse of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in Israel. Four major topics formed the basis for the meeting: adhesion and colonization; cell invasion and intracellular multipli cation; evasion of host defenses; toxins and systemic effects. The presentations clearly show that our understanding of the pathology, pathogenesis and bacteria-host cell inter-action has greatly advanced over the last few years. The contributions to our knowledge on the biogenesis of adhesins and their molecular organization, as well as on the mechanism of adherence to infected target tissue by pathogenic bacteria, have been particularly impressive. significant progress has been made in defining the nature of pathogenic and cytotoxic factors produced by bacteria, and much has been learned about the biochemical and antigenic modifications occurring in diverse types of host cells upon infection. The discussions of poly saccharide capsules, bacterial endotoxins and secreted toxins illustrated the challenge and the possibilities for vaccine development.

Proceedings of a symposium held under the auspices of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, at Ramat Rachel, Israel, May 15-19, 1989.

Springer Book Archives

I. Adhesion and Colonization.- Characterization and Surface Organization of E. coli Adhesins.- Binding of Enterobacterial Fimbria to Proteins of Basement Membranes and Connective Tissue - A Novel Function for Fimbriae.- P-Fimbriae: Molecular Aspects of Their Structure and Their Application as Carriers of Foreign Antigenic Determinants.- Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli, A New Diarrheal Agent.- Fimbriae of Human Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Control of Their Expression.- Regulation of the Biosynthesis of K99 and 987P Fimbriae.- Adherence Pili of Escherichia coli 078 Determine Host and Tissue Specificity.- The Analysis of Bordetella pertussis Fimbrial Mutants in a Rabbit Model.- Differentiation Between Pathogenic and Non-Pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica.- Adherence and Pathogenicity of Mycoplasma pneumoniae: A Review.- II. Cell Invasion and Intracellular Multiplication.- Genetics of Factors Involved in Extraintestinal E. coli Pathogenicity.- Entry and Intracellular Behaviour of Shigella.- The Salmonella typhimurium Virulence Plasmid.- Regulation and Function of Plasmid Encoded Virulence Determinants of Yersinia.- Outer Membrane Proteins: Old and New.- III. Evasion of Host Defenses.- Structural Aspects of LPS: Role in Evasion of Host Defense Mechanism.- Chemical Characterization of E. coli Capsules and Analysis of Their Expression.- Structure, Function and Role in Disease of Pneumolysin, the Thiol-Activated Toxin of Streptococcus pneumoniae.- Studies on the Genetic Basis of Haemophilus influenza Pathogenicity.- IV. Toxins and Systematic Effects.- Assembly and Secretion of Oligomeric Toxins.- Genetics of Yop Production in Yersinia enterocolitica.- TNF-?, IL-1 and PGE2Secretion Following Macrophage Activation by Mycoplasma capricolum Membranes.- BacterialEndotoxins: Relationships Between Chemical Structure and Biological Activity of the Inner Core-Lipid A Domain.- Author Index.