Virulence Factors in Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae

Jie Zhu; Tao Wang; Liang Chen; Liang Chen; Hong Du

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.642484

Frontiers in Microbiology (Apr 2021)

Virulence Factors in Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae

Jie Zhu,
Tao Wang,
Liang Chen,
Liang Chen,
Hong Du

Affiliations

Jie Zhu: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
Tao Wang: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
Liang Chen: Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation, Nutley, NJ, United States
Liang Chen: Department of Medical Sciences, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, NJ, United States
Hong Du: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.642484
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12

Abstract

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Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) has spread globally since first described in the Asian Pacific Rim. It is an invasive variant that differs from the classical K. pneumoniae (cKP), with hypermucoviscosity and hypervirulence, causing community-acquired infections, including pyogenic liver abscess, pneumonia, meningitis, and endophthalmitis. It utilizes a battery of virulence factors for survival and pathogenesis, such as capsule, siderophores, lipopolysaccharide, fimbriae, outer membrane proteins, and type 6 secretion system, of which the former two are dominant. This review summarizes these hvKP-associated virulence factors in order to understand its molecular pathogenesis and shed light on new strategies to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of hvKP-causing infection.

Published in Frontiers in Microbiology

ISSN: 1664-302X (Online)
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Microbiology
Website: http://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology

About the journal

Abstract

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