Virulence factors and their mechanisms of action: the view from a damage-response framework
Virulence factors and their mechanisms of action: the view from a damage-response framework
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DOI：
10.2166/wh.2009.036
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发表时间：
2009-01-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Pirofski, Liise-anne
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Casadevall, Arturo;Pirofski, Liise-anne
毒力因子的概念一直是一个强大的引擎，在推动研究和知识流在微生物发病机制和传染病的领域。本文从微生物致病机理的损伤-反应框架出发，将毒力因子定义为能够损伤易感宿主的微生物组分。在实践层面上，有效的免疫应答通常针对毒力因子的发现为未来的疫苗设计提供了路线图。然而，这一概念存在重大局限性，其根源在于在缺乏宿主因子和宿主反应的情况下无法定义毒力和毒力因子。事实上，这一概念似乎对某些类型的细菌病原体最有效，不太适合病毒和具有致病潜力的微生物。
The virulence factor concept has been a powerful engine in driving research and the intellectual flow in the fields of microbial pathogenesis and infectious diseases. This review analyzes virulence factors from the viewpoint of the damage-response framework of microbial pathogenesis, which defines virulence factor as microbial components that can damage a susceptible host. At a practical level, the finding that effective immune responses often target virulence factors provides a roadmap for future vaccine design. However, there are significant limitations to this concept, which are rooted in the inability to define virulence and virulence factors in the absence of host factors and the host response. In fact, this concept appears to work best for certain types of bacterial pathogens, being less well suited for viruses and commensal organisms with pathogenic potential.