Bacterial Disease Mechanisms

Antibiotic resistance and our consequent inability to treat many bacterial infections had fuelled an urgent need to understand the means by which bacteria cause disease. This has lead to a renaissance in research into bacterial disease mechanisms and the birth of a new discipline – Cellular Microbiology. The fruits of such research and how they have lead to a new perspective on bacteria-host interactions are described in this introductory textbook. The central premise is that bacteria have evolved means of manipulating normal host cell functions and overcoming host defence systems to ensure their survival. As well as offering a new perspective on the classical bacterial virulence mechanisms, this book outlines the new molecular techniques developed to unravel the complexity of bacteria-host interactions. Current research may lead not only to a better understanding of disease mechanisms, but also to new means of preventing and/or treating bacterial infections.

Author Biography

Michael Wilson is currently Professor of Microbiology in the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, University College London, and Head of the Department of Microbiology at the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London. He is the co-editor of Community Structure and Co-operation in Biofilms, 2000 (0521793025) and editor of Bacterial Adhesion to Host Tissues, 2001 (0521801079). His main research interests are bacterial virulence factors, biofilms and the development of new antimicrobial strategies. Brian Henderson is Professor of Cell Biology and Head of the Cellular Microbiology Research Group at the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London. His research centres around cytokine biology and the interactions of bacteria with myeloid and lymphoid cells. Rod McNab is Lecturer in Molecular Microbiology at the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, and works on streptococcal adhesion and colonization factors, biofilms and bacterial cell-cell communication.