In recent years increased scientific attention has been given to immediate defense mechanisms based on non-clonal recognition of microbial components. These mechanisms constitute the innate immunity arm of the body s defense. Identification of pathogens by these mechanisms involves primarily receptors recognizing sugar moieties of various microorganisms. Innate immunity based mechanisms are essential for the existence of multicellular organisms. They are evolutionarily conserved and designed to provide immediate protection against microbial pathogens to eradicate infection. Activation of innate immunity is crucial for transition to specific immunity and for its orientation, and to assist the specific immune response in the recognition of pathogens and their destruction. Innate immunity is regularly involved in the arrest of bacterial, mycotic, viral and parasitic infections, giving the specific immune response time to become effective. It becomes critically essential in immunocompromised patients who fail to mount specific immune responses due to congenital or acquired immunodeficiencies as a result of chemotherapy, dialysis, immunosuppressive drugs, or HIV infection. The Innate Immunity arsenal constitutes polymorphonuclear and mononuclear phagocytes, mast cells, the complement system, Natural Killer cells, antimicrobial peptides, and presumably a subset of T lymphocytes with TCRl receptors.

In recent years increased scientific attention has been given to immediate defense mechanisms based on non-clonal recognition of microbial components. These mechanisms constitute the innate immunity arm of the body s defense. Identification of pathogens by these mechanisms involves primarily receptors recognizing sugar moieties of various microorganisms. Innate immunity based mechanisms are essential for the existence of multicellular organisms. They are evolutionarily conserved and designed to provide immediate protection against microbial pathogens to eradicate infection. Activation of innate immunity is crucial for transition to specific immunity and for its orientation, and to assist the specific immune response in the recognition of pathogens and their destruction. Innate immunity is regularly involved in the arrest of bacterial, mycotic, viral and parasitic infections, giving the specific immune response time to become effective. It becomes critically essential in immunocompromised patients who fail to mount specific immune responses due to congenital or acquired immunodeficiencies as a result of chemotherapy, dialysis, immunosuppressive drugs, or HIV infection. The Innate Immunity arsenal constitutes polymorphonuclear and mononuclear phagocytes, mast cells, the complement system, Natural Killer cells, antimicrobial peptides, and presumably a subset of T lymphocytes with TCRl receptors.

Attachment to host cells or tissues is often the first step in the establishment of bacterial infections. A complex array of recognition, attachment, and virulence factors is involved in this process, which recent research has greatly illuminated. This comprehensive and authoritative volume discusses the specific cell and tissue-specific affinities of pathogenic microorganisms, including bioinorganic surfaces such as teeth, and is an essential reference for researchers and students of host-pathogen interactions.

The emergence of pathogens resistant to conventional antimicrobial agents has forced us to intensify the efforts in search for new approaches to prevent infectious diseases. Such a direction was indicated in studies over the last two decades showing that adhesion of pathogens, primarily via glycoconjugate or protein receptors of the host tissue, is crucial for the infectious process. Moreover, it was found that infection can be prevented by blocking adhesion of the pathogen to mucosal surfaces of the host. The various aspects of interference with the process of microbial adhesion as a way of preventing diseases were the subject of the Bat-Sheva Seminar, "Towards Anti-Adhesion Therapy of Microbial Infectious Diseases," held in Zichron Yaakov, Israel, February 25 to March I, 1996. A major aim of the Bat-Sheva de Rothschild Foundation for the Advancement of Science in Israel, which sponsors a series of seminars, ours among them, is to provide the necessary tools and settings for international forums and exposure of young scientists and promising students to the state of the art of the field. This goal has been achieved during the week's discussions, and its major aspects are presented in this compendium. The seminar's participants, as well as the readers of this book, thank the founder and Foundation for their support. This book includes the major themes of this rapidly growing area. However, by no means do we intend to cover every bit and piece in it. The book's first section deals with the lectin-sugar interactions and their inhibitors.