Carbohydrates as recognition molecules for bacterial adhesins: methodology and characteristics

Future attempts at developing inhibitors of dental plaque formation necessitate characterization of the bacterial-host, as well as the inter-bacterial recognition processes. Bacterial binding to a panel of solid-phase reference glycolipids was used to reveal the recognition of internal receptor sequences, low-affinity cooperative interactions, and adhesin variants with slightly shifted receptor epitopes. This epitopic variation may be a mechanism for shifting the host and tissue tropism of the bacteria, and may have evolved in response to the topography and expression of receptor epitopes at the host tissue surfaces.