Molecular cross talk between epithelial cells and pathogenic microorganisms.

The conference brought together epithelial cell biologists and molecular microbiologists and emphasized that these seemingly diverse disciplines are intricately intertwined. The model systems discussed throughout the meeting emphasized the novel approaches available to address key issues and begin to understand the molecular details of responses triggered at the microbial-epithelial interface. For example, co-crystallization of native ligand-receptor complexes as well as biologically or chemically altered forms of these complexes will allow fine details of receptor-ligand interactions to be determined. This approach is critical in development of new generation antimicrobial agents. Furthermore, transfection techniques that allow receptor expression in model epithelia, development of representative animal model systems, and development of transgenic mouse strains will aid in dissecting microbial-epithelial interactions and will provide further advances in studies on pathogenesis and tissue and host tropism. We are only beginning to uncover the nature of the bidirectional regulatory signals that occur between microbes and hosts. We know little about how these signals relate to the disease state, to microbial virulence, or to immune function. Clearly the cross talk between cell biologists and microbiologists is an important step in unraveling the events occurring between microbes and eukaryotic cells.