Figure 4.

A summary of the topics covered within this review. To the left are virulence factors commonly seen and utilized by pneumococcal serotypes. On the right are virulence factors increased in serotype 3 strains. These include but are not limited to electronegativity and capsule production/shedding. Electronegativity has a variety of effects on virulence as demonstrated above. Higher electronegativity acts as a repellent of immune cells and mucin, allowing for increased escape of immune responses and nasopharyngeal colonization by mucin evasion. Increases in capsular polysaccharide shedding in serotype 3 have been hypothesized to overwhelm the immune responses by sequestering antibodies and minimizing the deposit of antibody on the cell surface.