Studio osservazionale e ruolo di Pseudomonas aeruginosa nella fibrosi cistica

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous,non-fermenting bacterium,considered an opportunistic pathogen in humans and represents the most important respiratory condition for patients with cystic fibrosis.Recent studies highlight the peculiar predilection of this micro-organism for the pulmonary epithelium of cystic fibrosis patients,considering the microbial colonization of this germ due to the alteration of the CFTR protein,characteristic of this pathology,which causes a deficiency of glycoproteins and glycolipids in the epithelium of respiratory tract lining.The consequent reduction of airways hydration of cystic fibrosis patients leads to insufficient removal of the bacteria that are trapped in the apical membranes of the airway lining epithelium. The resulting infection,produced by toxic substances releaased by this bacterium,involves direct damage to the tissues of the respiratory tract and a local inflammatory reaction and subsequently systemic.This study is also concerned with yhe in-dept detection of homologous sequences of DNA through the Southern blotting technique,which has contribued,in a growing role,tothe identification of genes responsible for cystic fibrosis.