ABSTRACT
S. epidermidis Strains .................................................................................126 7.9 Regulation of the Expression of Biofilm Formation in S. epidermidis......126
7.10 Relation of Biofilm Formation to Antibiotic Susceptibility .......................130 Acknowledgments..................................................................................................132 References..............................................................................................................132
Biomaterial-associated infections, most frequently caused by coagulase-negative staphylococci, are of increasing importance in modern medicine. Regularly, antimicrobial therapy fails without removal of the implanted device. The most important factor in the pathogenesis of biomaterial-associated staphylococcal infections is the formation of adherent, multilayered bacterial biofilms. In this chapter, recent progress regarding the taxonomy and clinical relevance of coagulase-negative staphylococci, factors functional in biofilm formation, their role in pathogenesis and antibiotic susceptibility, and the regulation of their expression is presented.
