Table IV.
Confirmed or putative virulence factors of A. pleuropneumoniae involved in avoiding the host’s defense mechanism and the corresponding genes.
| (Putative) virulence factor | Gene | Function | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proteases | NA* | Degradation of porcine IgA and IgG | [81, 82] |
| Apx toxins | see Table III | Cytolysis of neutrophils and macrophages, apoptosis of alveolar macrophages, impairment of macrophage chemotactic and phagocytotic function, intracellular survival | [29, 34, 36, 42, 43, 110] |
| Urease | ureABC, ureDEFG | Intracellular survival, impairment of macrophage function, toxic for macrophages | [20, 21] |
| Carbohydrates in capsule and lipopolysaccharides | NA | Intracellular survival | [16] |
| Heat-shock protein | dnaK | Intracellular survival | [53] |
| Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase | sodC | Intracellular survival | [71, 104] |
| Capsular polysaccharide | cpxDCBA | Antiphagocytic, serum resistance | [8, 11, 61, 66, 75, 97–99, 113, 118–120] |
| Regulator of the maltose regulon | malT | Serum resistance | [75] |
* Information not available.