Bacterial adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells

Bacterial adhesion to intestinal epithelial cells is a biological process, not a single protein or canonical drug target, referring to how bacteria—both pathogenic and probiotic species—attach to the mucosal surface or directly to epithelial cells in the gastrointestinal tract[1][2][7]. Adhesion is mediated by diverse bacterial structures (adhesins, surface-layer proteins, pili/fimbriae), which bind to host molecules such as mucins, E-cadherin, collagen, and other extracellular matrix proteins[1][2][3][6]. This process is essential for microbial colonization, immune system interaction, and, in the case of pathogens, invasion and disease. In probiotics, adhesion is often linked to beneficial colonization and competition with pathogens[1][2].

Other names

bacterial epithelial adhesionbacterial attachment to gut epitheliumbacterial intestinal adhesionadhesion to intestinal epithelium

Inhibition of adhesins; Disruption of bacterial surface proteins or host cell receptors