Virulence factor

A microbial molecule or trait that contributes to disease by enabling infection, evading host defenses, or damaging host tissues.

Adhesin: A microbial molecule that binds host cells or tissues. Adhesins anchor pathogens to host surfaces, often enabling colonization before disease develops.
Pathogenicity: The capacity of an organism to cause disease in a host. Virulence factors contribute to pathogenicity, but no single factor necessarily determines it.
Toxoid vaccine: A vaccine made from an inactivated toxin that induces protective antitoxin immunity. Toxoid vaccines target toxin-mediated disease by neutralizing a specific virulence factor.
Colonization factor: A microbial trait that supports stable presence on or within a host. Colonization can occur without disease, whereas virulence factors contribute to harm.
Invasin: A microbial molecule that promotes entry into host cells or tissues. Invasins let pathogens cross barriers or enter cells that they otherwise could not reach.
Virulence: The degree of harm or disease severity caused by a pathogen. Virulence factors are traits that can raise or shape a pathogen’s harmfulness.
Antivirulence therapy: Treatment that limits disease by blocking pathogen traits needed for infection or damage. It targets harmful functions without necessarily killing the microbe directly.
Microbial fitness: The ability of a microbe to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. A fitness-enhancing trait is not necessarily virulent unless it contributes to disease or damage.
Bacterial toxin: A bacterial product that harms host cells or disrupts their functions. Toxins cause disease by directly damaging cells or altering their signaling.
Infectious dose: The number of infectious organisms needed to establish infection in a host. Factor activity can change how many microbes are needed to initiate infection.

Linked from 8 pages