Adherence of DiarrheagenicEscherichia coliStrains to Epithelial Cells

An important early step in the colonization of the human gastrointestinal tract by bacteria is the adhesion of the organism to the host surface. Although adhesion is essential to maintain members of the normal microflora in the intestine, it is also the critical early phase in all diarrheal infections caused by pathogenic Escherichia coli strains. It is important, therefore, to fully understand the mechanisms underlying E. coli adhesion and in that way to be able to develop methods of maintaining the intestinal normal microflora and to prevent pathogenic E. coli from initiating an infectious process.