Surface polysaccharides and iron-uptake systems of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae.

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae is the etiologic agent of porcine pleuropneumonia. Infection by A. pleuropneumoniae is a multifactorial process governed by many virulence factors acting alone or, more often, in concert to establish the pathogen in the porcine host. The aim of this short review is to present recent data concerning important surface molecules of A. pleuropneumoniae; namely, lipopolysaccharides, capsular polysaccharides, and a subset of outer membrane proteins involved in iron uptake.