Bacterial Disease Mechanisms

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.

Preface; Abbreviations used; 1. An introduction to bacterial diseases; 2. Bacterial cell biology; 3. Molecular analysis of bacterial virulence mechanisms; 4. Communication in infection; 5. The mucosal surface: the front line of antibacterial defence; 6. Immune defences against bacteria; 7. Bacterial adhesion as a virulence mechanism; 8. Bacterial invasion as a virulence mechanism; 9. Bacterial exotoxins; 10. Bacterial evasion of host defence mechanisms; 11. Bacteria in human health and disease: the future?; Appendix A. Glossary of terms used; Appendix B. Brief descriptions of bacteria frequently mentioned; Index.