Virulence factor

Virulence factor

Virulence factors are molecules produced by a pathogen that specifically cause disease, [MeshName|Virulence+Factors] or that influence their host's function to allow the pathogen to thrive.

Factors that are used in general life processes, such as metabolism or bacterial cell structural components, may be vital to the pathogen's ability to thrive in the host, but are not considered virulence factors since they lack specific function to directly influence the host.

Examples

Examples of virulence factors for "Staphylococcus aureus" are hyaluronidase, protease, coagulase, lipases, deoxyribonucleases and enterotoxins

Some examples of virulence factors for "Streptococcus pyogenes" are M protein, lipoteichoic acid, hyaluronic acid capsul, invasins such as streptokinase, streptodornase, hyaluronidase, spenceronic, dorsettonic, and streptolysins, and excotoxins

Related links

*Virulence

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • virulence factor — A bacterial product, usually a protein or carbohydrate, that contributes to virulence or pathogenicity …   Dictionary of microbiology

  • virulence factor — a substance or environmental factor that increases the pathogenicity of a disease causing microorganism …   Medical dictionary

  • Virulence — (also called pestiferousness) refers to the degree of pathogenicity of a microbe, or in other words the relative ability of a microbe to cause disease.The word virulent , which is the adjective for virulence, derives from the Latin word… …   Wikipedia

  • Virulence-related outer membrane protein family — Virulence related OMP Identifiers Symbol Ail Lom Pfam PF06316 …   Wikipedia

  • Factor H — Complement factor H PDB rendering based on 1haq …   Wikipedia

  • Clumping factor A — Clumping factor A, or ClfA, is a virulence factor from Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) that binds to fibrinogen. ClfA also has been shown to bind to complement regulator I protein.[1] It is responsible for the clumping of blood plasma observed… …   Wikipedia

  • Cord factor — refers to lipoarabinomannan, a molecule generated from trehalose dimycolate by virulent strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and closely related species.[1][2] It is a surface glycolipid which blocks macrophage activation by IFN γ, induces… …   Wikipedia

  • Optimal virulence — is a concept relating to the ecology of hosts and parasites. One definition of virulence is the host s parasite induced loss of fitness. The parasite s fitness is determined by its success in transmitting offsprings to other hosts. At one time,… …   Wikipedia

  • Host factor — is a medical term referring to the traits of an individual person or animal that affect susceptibility to disease, especially in comparison to other individuals. The term arose in the context of infectious disease research, in contrast to… …   Wikipedia

  • cord factor — Glycolipid (trehalose 6,6 dimycolate) found in the cell walls of Mycobacteria (causing them to grow in serpentine cords) and important in virulence, being toxic and inducing granulomatous reactions identical to those induced by the whole organism …   Dictionary of molecular biology

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”