Adhesion mechanisms, host susceptibility

A bacterial infection starts in general with the adhesion of a bacterium onto a host cell. The adhesion mechanism has turned out to be far more complex than anticipated. For example, bacteria that express their adhesins directly on the cell wall are susceptible to shear forces. A shear flow will apply a torque onto the bacteria that will induce a successive breakage of bonds and result in bacterial rolling [f,2]. This often implies that the bacteria detach from the host cell, which, in turn, makes it less likely that they can pursue their infectious task. 

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