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Review

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology 2, 578–588 (1 August 2001) | doi:10.1038/35085062

Pathogenic trickery: deception of host cell processes

Leigh A. Knodler , Jean Celli & B. Brett Finlay

Microbial pathogens cause a spectrum of diseases in humans. Although the disease mechanisms vary considerably, most pathogens have developed virulence factors that interact with host molecules, often usurping normal cellular processes, including cytoskeletal dynamics and vesicle targeting. These virulence factors often mimic host molecules, and mediate events as diverse as bacterial invasion, antiphagocytosis, and intracellular parastism.