“Effect of growth phase and virulence factors on the adherence to and invasion of Caco-2 epithelial cells by Campylobacter” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 M. Ganan 1 , R. Muñoz 1 , A.V. Carrascosa 1 , S. de Pascual-Teresa 2 , A. J. Martínez- Rodríguez 1 * 1- Instituto de Fermentaciones Industriales (CSIC), Juan de la Cierva, 3. 28006. Madrid, Spain. 2- Instituto del Frio (CSIC), Jose Antonio Novais 10. 28040. Madrid, Spain Corresponding author: Tel: (34)915622900, ext. 216 Fax: (34)915644853 e-mail: amartinez@ifi.csic.es 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Running title: Variables affecting Campylobacter adherence and invasion of Caco-2 cells Keywords: Campylobacter, Caco-2 cells, adherence, invasion, virulence factors