Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of severe bacterial infections in human newborn infants. Advances in streptococcal molecular genetics and refinement of in vitro and in vivo model systems of GBS disease have led to the discovery and characterization of several extracellular virulence factors elaborated by this pathogen. This review summarizes our current understanding of GBS extracellular virulence factors including the beta-hemolysin/cytolysin, C5a-peptidase, hyaluronate lyase, CAMP factor, oligopeptidase, and carbohydrate exotoxin CM101. The molecular basis and potential pathogenic role(s) of each factor are considered in the context of neonatal infection.