Chapter 3

Virulence Factors of P. aeruginosa and Their Role in Pathogenicity

M. Mahmoudi, S. Ghafourian*, A. Maleki and B. Badakhsh

Abstract

P. aeruginosa can cause a variety of infections in different hosts. For this purpose, it regulates several virulence factors depending on the surrounding conditions and environments. As a result, the type and severity of diseases vary from host to host. For instance, it causes acute infection in some patients, while it causes chronic infections in others. On the other hand, it can sometimes be very deadly and sometimes easy to treat. The difference in the behavior of P. aeruginosa is directly related to the expression of key virulence factors. In this chapter, major virulence factors and their roles in pathogenicity that are related to human diseases are comprehensively discussed. These virulence factors including, lipopolysaccharide, adhesions, lectins, alginate, flagella, pigments, biofilm, toxins, enzymes, proteases, etc. It should be noted that recognition and familiarity with virulence factors can be very helpful and effective to understand P. aeruginosa pathogenesis. Therefore, we discussed the structure as well as the manner of virulence factors intervention in P. aeruginosa infections. We hope to create a general idea of P. aeruginosa structure in the minds of the readers at the end of this chapter.

Total Pages: 8-37 (30)

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