Microbial Virulence Factors

Dear Colleagues,

Microbial virulence factors can be defined as a wide range of molecules produced by pathogenic microbes that enhance their ability to evade their host defenses and cause disease. This broad definition encompasses secreted products such as toxins, enzymes, exopolysaccharides, but also cell surface structures like capsules, lipopolysaccharides, glyco- and lipoproteins, and intracellular changes in metabolic regulatory networks governed by protein sensors/regulators and non-coding regulatory RNAs. The knowledge, at the molecular level, of the biology of microbial pathogens and their virulence factors is central in the development of novel therapeutic molecules and strategies to combat microbial infections. This is of particular importance in the present days with the worldwide emergence of microbes resistant to available antimicrobials. Advances in recent years in molecular biology, genomic technologies and bioinformatics contributed to the molecular identification and functional analyses of microbial virulence factors. This Special Issue of IJMS will be focused on virulence factors and their regulatory networks from microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, as well as on the description of innovative experimental techniques to characterize microbial virulence factors. Research papers, up-to-date review articles, and commentaries are all welcome.

Prof. Jorge H. Leitão
Guest Editor

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