Question

Pathogens that are intracellular are not able to use ___ components, and exploit intracellular sites to grow & replicate.

Answer 1

Intracellular pathogens cannot use extracellular components and exploit intracellular sites to grow and replicate.

Step-by-step explanation:

Intracellular pathogens are unable to use extracellular components and instead exploit intracellular sites to grow and replicate. By entering the host cell, intracellular pathogens can evade some immune mechanisms while also utilizing the host cell's nutrients.

For example, bacterial pathogens may produce capsules or undergo antigenic variation to avoid the host immune response. Viral pathogens use adhesins and antigenic variation to evade immune defenses.

Furthermore, obligate and facultative intracellular pathogens tend to have small genomes due to the nutrients provided by host cells, making their cultivation in the laboratory difficult.