Editing Exoenzyme (section)

==Examples of exoenzymes as virulence factors==

Source:<ref name=virulence/>

[[File:Necrotizing fasciitis - intermed mag.jpg|200px|thumbnail|right|Microscopic view of necrotizing fasciitis as caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'']]

===Necrotizing enzymes===
[[Necrotizing]] enzymes destroy cells and tissue. One of the best known examples is an exoenzyme produced by ''[[Streptococcus pyogenes]]'' that causes [[necrotizing fasciitis]] in humans.

===Coagulase===
By binding to [[prothrombin]], [[coagulase]] facilitates [[clotting]] in a cell by ultimately converting [[fibrinogen]] to [[fibrin]]. Bacteria such as ''[[Staphylococcus aureus]]'' use the enzyme to form a layer of fibrin around their cell to protect against host [[defense mechanism]]s.
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[[File:Staphylococcus aureus, 50,000x, USDA, ARS, EMU.jpg|175px|thumbnail|left|Fibrin layer formed by ''Staphylococcus aureus'']]

===Kinases===
The opposite of coagulase, [[kinase]]s can dissolve clots. ''S. aureus'' can also produce staphylokinase, allowing them to dissolve the clots they form, to rapidly diffuse into the host at the correct time.<ref>{{cite web |last=Todar|first=Kenneth|title=Mechanisms of Bacterial Pathogenicity|url=http://textbookofbacteriology.net/pathogenesis_4.html|work=Todar's Online Textbook of Bacteriology|publisher=Kenneth Todar, PhD|accessdate=12 December 2013}}</ref>

===Hyaluronidase===
Similar to collagenase, [[hyaluronidase]] enables a pathogen to penetrate deep into tissues. Bacteria such as ''[[Clostridium]]'' do so by using the enzyme to dissolve [[collagen]] and [[hyaluronic acid]], the protein and saccharides, respectively, that hold tissues together.

===Hemolysins===
[[Hemolysin]]s target erythrocytes, a.k.a. [[red blood cell]]s. Attacking and [[lysing]] these cells harms the host organism, and provides the microorganism, such as the fungus ''[[Candida albicans]]'', with a source of iron from the lysed [[hemoglobin]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors= Favero D, Furlaneto-Maia L, França EJ, Góes HP, Furlaneto MC |title= Hemolytic factor production by clinical isolates of Candida species |journal= Current Microbiology |volume= 68 |issue= 2 |pages= 161–6 |date= February 2014 |pmid= 24048697 |doi= 10.1007/s00284-013-0459-6|s2cid= 253807898 }}</ref> Organisms can either by [[alpha-hemolytic]], [[beta-hemolytic]], or [[hemolysis (microbiology)#Gamma|gamma]]-hemolytic (non-hemolytic).
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