Proceedings of the FEMS Symposium on Genes and Proteins Underlying Microbial Urinary Tract Virulence: Basic Aspects and Applications, held September 16-19, 1999, in Pécs, Hungary. Urinary tract infections are among the most frequent diseases caused by microbial pathogens. In this volume, researchers, clinical microbiologists and clinicians exchange the latest ideas covering four major aspects of this important topic:

• Genetic information, synthesis and assembly of virulence factors in urinary pathogens;
• Regulation of genes involved in the phenotypic appearance of virulence;
• Host-parasite interactions determining the process and outcome of the infection;
• Possible applications of the above aspects in diagnosis, therapy and prevention.

Inhalt

Keynote Lectures: Urinary Tract Infection: From Basic Science to Clinical Application; J. Hacker. Innate Defences and Resistance to Gram Negative Mucosal Infection; G. Godaly, et al. Session I: Genetic Information, Synthesis, Assembly, and Activation Processes in Virulence Mechanisms: Pathogenicity Islands of Uropathogenic E. coli and Evolution of Virulence; G. Blum-Oehler, et al. Iron Transport in Escherichia coli; V. Braun, et al. The Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor 1 (CNF1) from Uropathogenic Escherichia coli; P. Boquet. Genetic Characterization of the Uropathogenic E. coli Strain 536 - A Subtractive Hybridization Analysis; B. Janke, et al. Analysis of the Hemolysin Determinants of the Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Strain 536; G. Nagy, et al. Functional Variability of Type 1 Fimbriae of Escherichia coli. R. Pouttu, et al. HPI of High-Virulant Yersinia si Found in E. coli Strains Causing Urinary Tract Infection; S. Schubert, et al. Aggregation Substance of Enterococcus faecalis: Multifunctional Adhesin; A. Muscholl-Silberhorn, et al. Session II: Regulation and Expression of Virulence Genes: A Role for the Subunit of RNA Polymerase in the Regulation of Bacterial Virulence; R. Hengge-Aronis. Transcriptional Organization and Regulation of E. coli. Group 2 Capsule Expression; I.S. Roberts. Molecular Basis of Catheter Associated Infections by Staphylococci; F. Götz, et al. Control Mechanisms in the Pap-Pili System; B.E. Uhlin, et al. Transcriptional Analysis of the SFA and PAP Determinants of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Strains; C. Balsalobre, et al. Structural and Functional Studies of theFimbrial Adhesin Gene Regulator PAPB from Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Y. Xia, et al. Interaction of the Nucleoid-Associated Proteins HHA and H-NS to Modulate Expression of the Hemolysin Operon in Escherichia coli; A. Juárez, et al. Use of the OMPS-Display System to Localize the Receptor-Binding Region in the PAPG Adhesin of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli; H. Lång, et al. The Role of the AirS Two-Component System in the Uropathogenic Escherichia coli; A.-K. Pernestig, et al. Examination of Regulatory Cross-talk between the Decay Accelerating Factor-binding Fimbrial/Afimbrial Adhesins and Type I Fimbriae; N. Holden, et al. Modulation of the Polysaccharide Intercellular Adhesin (PIA) Expression in Biofilm Forming Staphylococcus epidermidis; W. Ziebuhr, et al. Induction of Staphylococcus epidermidis Biofilm Formation by Environmental Factors: The Possible Involvement of the Alternative Transcription Factor SIGB; S. Rachid, et al. Expression of Virulence Genes in Candida albicans; P. Staib, et al. Effect of Spontaneous and Induced Mutations on Outer Membrane Proteins and Lipolysaccharides of Proteus penneri Strain 357; I. Kustos, et al. Session III: Host-Parasite Interactions: Role of Bacterial Lectins in Urinary Tract Infections; I. Ofek, et al. Adherence of Enteric Bacteria onto the Mammalian Extracellular Matrix; T.K. Korhonen. Interrelationship between Virulence Properties of Uropathogenic E. coli and Blood Group Phenotype of Patients with Chronic Urinary Tract Infections; R. Füstück, et al. Additional Articles. List of Contributors.