DSpace - Tor Vergata: Item 2108/706

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2108/706

Title:	Role of cell surface glycoconjugates in E. faecalis virulence and pathogenesis
Authors:	Baldassarri, Lucilla Huebner, Johannes Fabretti, Francesca
Keywords:	acidi teicoici biofilm glicolipidi
Issue Date:	26-Nov-2008
Abstract:	With an increasing number of bacterial antibiotic resistances, studying bacterial pathogenicity determinants has become a focus of microbiological research. E. faecalis is one of the leading causes of nosocomial infections, posing a serious threat to hospitalized patients, due to an always growing isolation of strains resistant to even last resort antibiotics, e. g. vancomycin. In this study we examined enterococcal surface components, focusing on their role in a row of important features of pathogenicity, like biofilm formation, the tremendous importance of which in the clinical setting had been underestimated for decades. Using E. faecalis deletion mutants we were able to show that modifications of enterococcal cell surface glycoconjugates like teichoic acids, leading to alterations of biophysical properties, play an important role in bacterial adaptation to and interaction with the environment. Teichoic acids are central components of the gram positive surface. Both biofilm f...
Description:	20. ciclo
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/2108/706
Appears in Collections:	Tesi di dottorato in medicina

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File	Description	Size	Format
Fabretti[1].pdf	Published article	74Kb	Adobe PDF	View/Open
Fabretti_complete-thesis+papers.pdf	Thesis	3126Kb	Adobe PDF	View/Open