Overview Microbial utilization of human signalling

Many pathogenic micro-organisms specifically target host-cell receptors that normally mediate intercellular interactions, attachment to substrata, or receive hor-monal, cytokine and other environmental signals. A fundamental question in microbial pathogenesis is how such targeting leads to cellular invasion. In eukaryotic cells, signal transduction involves a complex array of interactive molecules and second messengers that control multiple cellular functions. In this review, several eukaryotic signal transduction systems currently known are presented briefly to set the scene for discussing examples of distinct receptor/signalling systems that are known to be manipulated by pathogenic microbes. The second part of the review will focus on one large subset of receptors, the adhesion molecules, and explore th