Host and bacterial adhesion.

Bacterial adhesion is an important step in tissue colonization and depends extensively on the surface properties of a bacterial cell. For many microorganisms the prerequisite for host body occupancy is a break in tissue continuity. The next step is ongoing tissue destruction by products of bacterial metabolism: microbial enzymes and toxins. This happens, for example, in the initial phase of periodontitis. The mechanisms of adhesion are related to the specific structures present on the bacterial cell surface. This article summarizes recent data about bacterial attachment to host cells.