Invasive bacteria host defense

INVASIVE BACTERIA ENCOUNTER HOST DEFENSE ( PHAGOCYTES, COMPLEMENT, ANTIBODIES )... 

Figure 2. Counteracting strategies of invasive bacteria against unspecific host defense.

When adhesion of bacteria occurs on the surface of the prosthesis an invasive inflammatory process can be developed. If bacteria proliferation continues, a biofilm is formed, and consequently a three-dimensional structure protects bacteria against the patient s own defense system and from systemic antibiotic therapy [13]. Bacteria do not grow exponentially, but rather exist in a slow growing or starvation state. These microorganisms can produce an extracellular matrix that protects them from a hostile environment, enabling them to evade the host immune system and antibiotic treatment. This biofilm facilitates bacterial survival under nutrient-poor, stressful conditions, which occur in the host, and results in structurally-complex, heterogeneous bacterial aggregates associated with a surface [14,15]. 

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