Pathogenesis and immunity in enterococcal infections

Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium have emerged as multi-resistant nosocomial pathogens in immunocompromised and critically ill patients. Multi-resistant strains have acquired virulence genes resulting in hospital-adapted clones. The following review summarizes several proteins and carbohydrate- or glycoconjugates that have been identified as putative virulence factors involved in the pathogenesis of enterococcal infections and may be used as targets for alternative therapies. Several studies describing the host immune response against enterococci are also summarized.