[Bacterial adherence to the alveolar and respiratory tract system].

Bacterial adherence to the alveolar and respiratory tract system was broadly divided into specific and non-specific adhesion, and effects such as aging were investigated. In specific adhesion, various types of lectin that specifically bind to oligosaccarids as bacterial receptors were used, and lectin specific sugers map of the alveolar and respiratory system were prepared. However, no quantitative difference in oligosaccarids distribution was noted between elderly and young subjects. Meanwhile, in nonspecific adhesion, a study on K. pneumonia infection in mice revealed a pattern of glycocalyx production by the bacteria and their adhesion to the alveolar wall. Clinically, in cases of chronic respiratory infection, a pattern of production of and assembly around glycocalices by P. aeruginosa was observed (biofilm). In vitro tests showed that bacteria in the biofilm are resistant to antibacterial drugs. In the elderly, many factors match the conditions that facilitate the production of glycocalices by bacteria, and many infections of the respiratory organs in the elderly are attributed to nonspecific bacteria adhesion. Infections are thought to become intractable once they extend into biofilm.