BACTERIAL ADHERENCE IN SMOKERS AND NONSMOKERS

Bacterial adherence is thought to be a first important step in the pat hogenesis of infection. It is now recognized that bacteria bind to and colonize mucosal surfaces in a highly selective manner via a lock- an d key mechanism with complementary receptors on the mucosal surfaces o f the host. We studied adherence to buccal cells of a panel of potenti al respiratory pathogens as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneum oniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 18 smokers and 18 healthy non-smokers. Our results show an increased pneumococca l adherence in smokers compared to that of non-smokers and this may ex plain the role of smoking as a risk factor in the susceptibility to ba cterial pneumonia. The other bacterial species tested do not differ in their adhesion values and probably require previous damage of the muc osa before adhesion. (C) 1997 The Italian Pharmacological Society.