Table 2.

Summary of GBS virulence factors covered in this review, with their prevalence, specific targets, and mechanisms.

Virulence Factor	Specific Target	Mechanism	Prevalence	Reference
Serine-rich repeats1 (Srr1)	Fibrinogen	Adherence to vaginal epithelial cells, cervical epithelial cells	Common	[15,25,89]
Serine-rich repeats2 (Srr2)	Fibrinogen, Plasmin, Plasminogen	Adherence to vaginal epithelial cells, cervical epithelial cells	Common	[15,25,89]
Fibrinogen-binding proteins (FbsA, FbsB, FbsC)	Fibrinogen	Adherence to vaginal epithelial cells	Common	[34,89]
Hypervirulent GBS adhesin (HvgA)	Unknown	Cross intestinal epithelium, brain epithelium	Common	[16,17,89]
Plasminogen binding surface protein (PbsP)	Plasminogen	Colonize and invade host tissues	Unknown	[37]
Pili	Collagen I	Adherence to host cells	Common	[28,43,89,95,96]
Laminin binding protein (Lmb)	Laminin	Colonize and invade host epithelium	Common	[47,89,97]
C5a peptidase (ScpB)	C5a, Fibronectin	Invasion of epithelial cells	Common	[50,51,89]
GBS hyaluronidase (HylB)	Hyaluronic acid	Inhibition to ROS production; resistance to neutrophils	Common	[56,58,98]
Hemolytic pigment	Neutrophils, Mast cells, Macrophages, Platelets	Resistance to mast cells, macrophages, and neutrophils; penetration of the human placenta; invasion of the amniotic cavity; kills platelets	Common	[18,19,63,65]
Alpha C protein (ACP)	Glycosaminog-lycans (GAG)	Invasion of cervical epithelial cells	Unknown	[66]
Capsule	Siglecs	Defense from host deposition; inhibition of the activation of neutrophils and macrophages; resistance to platelets	Common	[70,71,74,75,76]
Membrane vesicles (MVs)	Collagen	Diminishment of the choriodecidual membrane integrity; infiltration of neutrophils and lymphocytes	Common	[81,82]