Virulence determinants for Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a marine microorganism that causes acute gastroenteritis associated with the consumption of contaminated raw or under cooked seafood. During infection, the bacterium utilizes a wide variety of virulence factors, including adhesins, toxins and type III secretion systems, to cause both cytotoxicity in cultured cells and enterotoxicity in animal models. Herein, we describe recent discoveries on the regulation and characterization of the virulence factors from V. para. Determining how this bacterial pathogen uses virulence factors to mediate pathogenicity improves our understanding of V. para. infections and more generally, host–pathogen interactions.

► V. para. is a marine bacterium associated with seafood poisoning.
► V. para. utilizes virulence factors to cause both cytotoxicity and invasive enterotoxicity.
► Virulence factors includes toxins, an adhesin and type III secretion systems.
► Characterizing virulence factors results in novel insights into host signaling.
► Studies on V. para. enrich the understanding of host–pathogen interactions.