The atomic force microscope (AFM) evolved as a standard device in modern microbiological research. However, its capability as a sophisticated force sensor is not used to its full capacity. The AFM turns into a unique tool for quantitative adhesion research in bacteriology by using \"bacterial probes\". Thereby, bacterial probes are AFM cantilevers that provide a single bacterium or a cluster of bacteria as the contact-forming object. We present a step-by-step protocol for preparing bacterial probes, performing force spectroscopy experiments and processing force spectroscopy data. Additionally, we provide a general insight into the field of bacterial cell force spectroscopy.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for several clinical syndromes, such as community-acquired pneumonia, sinusitis, otitis media, and others. The most severe clinical entity caused by this bacteria is undoubtedly invasive pneumococcal disease. Certain factors are known to increase the risk of presenting invasive pneumococcal disease, the most important being smoking habit and underlying concomitant diseases. This article comprises a consensus document on antipneumococcal vaccination in smokers, drawn up by a Smoking Expert Group from the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery and the Latin American Chest Association.

This article reviews and analyzes the recently updated guidelines for the prevention of infective endocarditis (IE) through antibiotic prophylaxis established by the American Heart Association (AHA). Various articles studying methods of preventing IE were reviewed, primarily the AHA\'s revised guidelines published in April 2007. Lists of reference articles were examined to cross reference relevant information regarding antibiotic prophylaxis for the prevention of IE. A major influence for revisions to the guidelines is that studies show a very small fraction of IE cases are preventable with prophylaxis with antibiotic therapy prior to dental procedures. IE is more likely to result from daily activities, such as brushing and flossing teeth, than from bacteremia caused by dental procedures. Patients with underlying cardiac conditions, who are associated with the most detrimental outcome if IE develops, should receive prophylaxis prior to dental procedures. Maintenance of oral health is more effective in reducing the risk of IE than prophylactic antibiotics for dental procedures. An increased lifetime risk of developing IE alone is not a basis for prophylaxis, especially considering that adverse events stemming from antibiotic use exceed the benefit of antibiotic prophylaxis.

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Membrane filters (0.22-microns pore size) were colonized with 10(4) CFU of logarithmic-phase bacteria per filter under laminar flow conditions in a Modified Robbins Device. Colonized filters were then placed upon agar dilution plates for MIC determinations. Subsequently, filters were transferred to control plates and incubated to obtain MBCs.

A bacterial pathogen that is important in both urinary tract and intestinal infections is Escherichia coli which expresses Dr or related adhesins. In this report, we present a model for testing cell-cell interaction, using both molecularly characterized laboratory cells that express recombinant molecules of human decay-accelerating factor (DAF), and recombinant bacterial Dr colonization factors. Dr adhesin ligand was identified as DAF (CD55), a membrane protein that protects autologous tissues from damage due to the complement system. Structure-function studies mapped the adhesin-binding site on the DAF molecule. A single-point substitution in the third short consensus repeat domain, Ser165 to Leu, corresponding to the Dra to Drb allelic polymorphism, caused complete abolition of adhesin binding to DAF.