Review
Immunology
Lindsay R. Grant, Elizabeth Begier, Christian Theilacker, Rachid Barry, Cassandra Hall-Murray, Qi Yan, Veneta Pope, Michael W. Pride, Luis Jodar, Bradford D. Gessner
Summary: Nonbacteremic community-acquired pneumonia is a major presentation of severe pneumococcal disease in adults. Urinary antigen detection can guide the use of higher valency pneumococcal conjugate vaccines by detecting the serotypes causing pneumococcal CAP.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Joseph A. Lewnard, Noga Givon-Lavi, Ron Dagan
Summary: The study analyzed the effectiveness of PCV in protecting children against pneumonia caused by different vaccine-targeted pneumococcal serotypes in southern Israel. The results showed that PCV could effectively reduce carriage of vaccine-serotype pneumococci and decrease the risk of disease progression.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Simon Athlin, Anders Magnuson, Carl Spindler, Jonas Hedlund, Kristoffer Stralin, Pontus Naucler
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of pneumococcal urinary antigen test (UAT) on broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The results showed that overall, UAT did not reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. However, non-severely ill patients with positive UAT results were less likely to receive broad-spectrum antibiotics and antibiotics with coverage for atypical bacteria.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Gina Amanda, Wisnu Tafroji, Dianiati Kusumo Sutoyo, Erlina Burhan, Budi Haryanto, Dodi Safari
Summary: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of community-acquired pneumonia, with serotype 3 being the most predominant. A significant proportion of isolates show resistance to tetracycline.
JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY IMMUNOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Eileen M. Dunne, Yinglei Hua, Rasheed Salaudeen, Ilias Hossain, Malick Ndiaye, Belinda D. Ortika, E. Kim Mulholland, Jason Hinds, Sam Manna, Grant A. Mackenzie, Catherine Satzke
Summary: We investigated the pathogenesis of pneumococcal pneumonia using clinical samples. Results demonstrated that pneumococci in the lung originated from the nasopharynx and suggested that changes in pneumococcal gene expression in the lung are a feature of pneumococcal pneumonia.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Review
Immunology
Catherine S. Palmer, Jacqueline M. Kimmey
Summary: This article summarizes the pathways of neutrophil migration from the bloodstream to the lungs during pneumococcal infection.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Pediatrics
Danae Dudognon, Corinne Levy, Martin Chalumeau, Sandra Biscardi, Marie-Aliette Dommergues, Francois Dubos, Karine Levieux, Marie Aurel, Philippe Minodier, Ferielle Zenkhri, Ellia Mezgueldi, Irina Craiu, Laurence Morin, Stephane Bechet, Emmanuelle Varon, Robert Cohen, Jeremie F. Cohen
Summary: In children with community-acquired pneumonia seen in the emergency department, procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are the best predictive biomarkers for detecting bacteremia.
FRONTIERS IN PEDIATRICS
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Fernanda Gross Duarte, Maria Goreth Barberino, Sandra da Silva Moreira, Joice Neves Reis, Julia Regazzini Spinardi, Rodrigo Sini de Almeida, Kristen E. Allen, Ronika Alexander-Parrish, Rosa Brim, Cesar Augusto de Araujo Neto, Edson Duarte Moreira
Summary: There is a high burden of pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) among adults in Brazil, despite routine immunization. Vaccine serotypes of pneumococcal CAP continue to be a persistent problem in this population.
Article
Microbiology
Willem R. Miellet, Janieke van Veldhuizen, David Litt, Rob Mariman, Alienke J. Wijmenga-Monsuur, Tessa Nieuwenhuijsen, Jennifer Christopher, Rebecca Thombre, Seyi Eletu, Thijs Bosch, Nynke Y. Rots, Marianne Alice van Houten, Elizabeth Miller, Norman K. Fry, Elisabeth A. M. Sanders, Krzysztof Trzcinski
Summary: A study found that qPCR-based detection of pneumococcus in saliva samples increases the sensitivity and specificity, which is important for surveillance and vaccine studies.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Alex R. Schuurman, Tom D. Y. Reijnders, Tjitske S. R. van Engelen, Valentine Leopold, Justin de Brabander, Christine van Linge, Michiel Schinkel, Liza Pereverzeva, Bastiaan W. Haak, Xanthe Brands, Maadrika M. N. P. Kanglie, Inge A. H. van den Berk, Renee A. Douma, Daniel R. Faber, Prabath W. B. Nanayakkara, Jaap Stoker, Jan M. Prins, Brendon P. Scicluna, W. Joost Wiersinga, Tom van der Poll
Summary: This study identifies shared and distinct pathophysiological mechanisms in different aetiologies of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), which may guide new pathogen-specific therapeutic strategies.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
August Wrotek, Julita Robakiewicz, Katarzyna Pawlik, Patryk Rudzinski, Izabela Pilarska, Aleksandra Jaron, Aleksandra Imielowska, Malgorzata Jarzebowska, Katarzyna Zablocka, Teresa Jackowska
Summary: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has a significant impact on pediatric hospitalizations. The study analyzed the contribution of CAP to hospitalizations, its etiology in relation to age, and the role of inflammatory markers. It found that CAP accounted for a considerable proportion of hospitalizations and patient days, with viral pneumonia being more common than bacterial pneumonia. Serum inflammatory markers can assist in differentiating the causative factors.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Jason J. LeBlanc, May ElSherif, Lingyun Ye, Donna MacKinnon-Cameron, Ardith Ambrose, Todd F. Hatchette, Amanda L. S. Lang, Hayley D. Gillis, Irene Martin, Walter H. B. Demczuk, Melissa K. Andrew, Guy Boivin, William Bowie, Karen Green, Jennie Johnstone, Mark Loeb, Anne E. McCarthy, Allison McGeer, Makeda Semret, Sylvie Trottier, Louis Valiquette, Duncan Webster, Shelly A. McNeil
Summary: This study provides updated data on pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (pCAP) and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in hospitalized adults from 2010 to 2017 in the context of age- and risk-based pneumococcal vaccine recommendations in Canada. The results show that the risk of pneumococcal infection in adults is related to age and disease category, with differences observed among different age groups. Moreover, the study supports the direct immunization of adults with PCV13 or higher-valency conjugate vaccines to reduce the burden of pCAP and IPD, considering the insufficient herd protection from PCV13 childhood immunization or the use of PPV23 in adults.
Article
Microbiology
Willem R. Miellet, Janieke van Veldhuizen, David Litt, Rob Mariman, Alienke J. Wijmenga-Monsuur, Paul Badoux, Tessa Nieuwenhuijsen, Rebecca Thombre, Sanaa Mayet, Seyi Eletu, Carmen Sheppard, Marianne Alice van Houten, Nynke Y. Rots, Elizabeth Miller, Norman K. Fry, Elisabeth A. M. Sanders, Krzysztof Trzcinski
Summary: This study proposes a procedure to improve the accuracy of molecular detection of live pneumococci in polymicrobial respiratory samples for carriage surveillance and vaccine impact studies. By combining conventional culture and qPCR results, the detection rate of live pneumococcus can be significantly increased, and the specificity of serotype carriage detection can be enhanced.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Miltiades Kyprianou, Konstantina Dakou, Aftab Aktar, Hichem Aouina, Naser Behbehani, Keertan Dheda, Georges Juvelekian, Adel Khattab, Bassam Mahboub, George Nyale, Sayed Oraby, Abdullah Sayiner, Atef Shibl, Serhat Unal, Mohamed Awad Tag El Deen, Ali Bin Sarwar Zubairi, Ross Davidson, Evangelos J. Giamarellos-Bourboulis
Summary: This meta-analysis demonstrates that the addition of macrolides to the treatment regimen for CAP can significantly reduce 30-day mortality and slightly increase the resolution rate of CAP. The study also found that Streptococcus pneumoniae and Klebsiella pneumoniae are the most common pathogens in under-reported countries.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Luis A. Ruiz, Leyre Serrano, Silvia Perez, Sonia Castro, Amaia Urrutia, Ane Uranga, Amaia Artaraz, Ainhoa Gomez, Pedro P. Espana, Rafael Zalacain
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of using a predefined cutoff value for lymphopenia as an early predictor of in-hospital mortality and other outcomes in patients with pneumococcal pneumonia. The study found that lymphopenia could be used as a reproducible predictor of complicated clinical course in these patients.
Article
Dermatology
Ashutosh Singh, Prerna Singh, Gijs Dingemans, Jacques F. Meis, Anuradha Chowdhary
Summary: Treatment-resistant dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes/interdigitale complex is a global public health threat, with a significant increase in resistance to terbinafine due to amino acid substitutions Phe397Leu and Leu393Phe in the SQLE protein. The newly developed DermaGenius (R) Resistance real-time PCR assay effectively identified Trichophyton species and distinguished between wild-type and SQLE mutant genotypes.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Liesbeth Martens, Berenger Kabore, Annelies Post, Christa E. van der Gaast-de Jongh, Jeroen D. Langereis, Halidou Tinto, Jan Jacobs, Andre J. van der Ven, Quirijn de Mast, Marien de Jonge
Summary: Age, sex, and season are important determinants of nasopharyngeal colonization with Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Moraxella catarrhalis in febrile patients in Burkina Faso. Carriage of S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae is associated with clinical pneumonia, while S. aureus carriage is associated with mortality in febrile patients.
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Stefanie S. Henriet, Jeroen D. Langereis, Stephanie W. Lo, Stephen Bentley, Rob J. Mesman, Zina Fejzic, Laura van Niftrik, Nina M. van Sorge, Heiman F. L. Wertheim, Marien de Jonge, Amelieke J. H. Cremers
Summary: The infant with a ventricular septal defect developed infective endocarditis caused by nontypeable S. pneumoniae, attributed to a deficient capsule rather than a host immune disorder. This case highlights the role of capsule deficiency in enhancing pneumococcal fitness for causing infective endocarditis.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Anaisa Ferreira, Rienke F. Uijen, Ozlem Bulut, Marien de Jonge, Jorge Dominguez-Andres, Mihai G. Netea
Summary: Research suggests that the spleen plays a limited role in trained immunity, as splenectomy does not affect the proinflammatory cytokine production of in vivo trained peritoneal cells, but does prevent the excessive increase of neutrophils associated with trained immunity.
JOURNAL OF LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zsofia Bognar, Marien de Jonge, Robert E. Gyurcsanyi
Summary: In situ labelling and encapsulation of viruses with silver nanoparticles enables their detection and quantification at the single particle level. Electrochemical measurement of the current peaks from the silver-coated viruses on the electrode allows for the linear correlation between frequency and virus count.
Article
Immunology
Joshua Gillard, Bastiaan A. Blok, Daniel R. Garza, Prashanna Balaji Venkatasubramanian, Elles Simonetti, Marc J. Eleveld, Guy A. M. Berbers, Pieter G. M. van Gageldonk, Irma Joosten, Ronald de Groot, L. Charlotte J. de Bree, Reinout van Crevel, Marien de Jonge, Martijn A. Huynen, Mihai G. Netea, Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos
Summary: This study demonstrates that prior Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination enhances immune responses to pertussis vaccines. Simultaneous BCG and acellular pertussis (aP) vaccinations do not show the same effect. Biomarkers of trained immunity are identified as the most reliable correlates of the enhanced immune responses.
Article
Immunology
Simone J. C. F. M. Moorlag, Esther Taks, Thijs ten Doesschate, Thomas W. van der Vaart, Axel B. Janssen, Lisa Mueller, Philipp Ostermann, Helga Dijkstra, Heidi Lemmers, Elles Simonetti, Marc Mazur, Heiner Schaal, Rob ter Heine, Frank L. van de Veerdonk, Chantal P. Bleeker-Rovers, Reinout van Crevel, Jaap ten Oever, Marien de Jonge, Marc J. Bonten, Cornelis H. van Werkhoven, Mihai G. Netea
Summary: This study found that BCG vaccination had no significant effect in preventing respiratory tract infections, including COVID-19, in older adults. However, it was found that individuals who received the BCG vaccine had stronger antibody responses after COVID-19 infection.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Zhaoli Liu, Gizem Kilic, Wenchao Li, Ozlem Bulut, Manoj Kumar Gupta, Bowen Zhang, Cancan Qi, He Peng, Hsin-Chieh Tsay, Chai Fen Soon, Yonatan Ayalew Mekonnen, Anaisa Valido Ferreira, Caspar I. van der Made, Bram van Cranenbroek, Hans J. P. M. Koenen, Elles Simonetti, Dimitri Diavatopoulos, Marien I. de Jonge, Lisa Mueller, Heiner Schaal, Philipp N. Ostermann, Markus Cornberg, Britta Eiz-Vesper, Frank van de Veerdonk, Reinout van Crevel, Leo A. B. Joosten, Jorge Dominguez-Andres, Cheng-Jian Xu, Mihai G. Netea, Yang Li
Summary: Through a multi-omics study, it was found that although minor differences exist in immunological responses, the immune system of convalescent COVID-19 patients largely recovers to the level of healthy individuals.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Daan W. Arends, Wynand Alkema, Indri Hapsari Putri, Christa E. van der Gaast-de Jongh, Marc Eleveld, Jeroen D. Langereis, Quirijn de Mast, Jacques F. Meis, Marien I. de Jonge, Amelieke J. H. Cremers
Summary: By examining the growth features of Streptococcus pneumoniae in vitro, researchers found that high maximum bacterial density is the most pronounced pathogenic growth feature, and is also an independent predictor of 30-day mortality. Certain growth features were associated with specific clinical manifestations like meningitis or pleural empyema, indicating that bacterial growth style potentially affects the progression of infection and the pathogenesis of complicated invasive disease. Further research on bacterial growth and adaptation to different host environments may provide insight for tailored vaccine targets or therapeutic approaches to reduce pneumococcal disease-related deaths worldwide.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Chantal D. Tan, Bryan S. van den Broek, Rebecca Womersley, Myrsini N. Kaforou, Nienke Hagedoorn, Michiel van der Flier, Heather A. Jackson, Henriette Moll, Rozemarijn I. Snijder, Marien L. de Jonge, Clementien Vermont
Summary: This study aims to distinguish bacterial and viral infections in febrile children attending the emergency department by identifying a combination of blood protein biomarkers. The best 3-protein signature, including TRAIL, LCN2, and IL-6, shows promising performance in classifying bacterial and viral infections in emergency care.
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Denis R. Katundu, Desderius Chussi, Christa E. van der Gaast-de Jongh, Maroeska M. Rovers, Marien I. de Jonge, Gerjon Hannink, Niels van Heerbeek
Summary: Despite the lack of effectiveness, prophylactic antibiotics are still frequently used in children after tonsillectomy. This study investigated the effect of prophylactic amoxicillin and found no significant difference compared to placebo in terms of tonsillitis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Janeri Froberg, Vera J. C. H. Koomen, Christa E. van der Gaast-de Jongh, Ria Philipsen, Corine H. Geurtsvankessel, Rory D. de Vries, Marije C. Baas, Renate G. van der Molen, Marien de Jonge, Luuk B. Hilbrands, Martijn A. Huynen, Dimitri A. Diavatopoulos, RECOVAC Consortium
Summary: This study found that mucosal IgA concentrations were significantly higher postinfection compared to postvaccination, while vaccination induced higher IgG concentrations. However, the ACE2-inhibiting activity did not differ between the two cohorts. Binding inhibition post-infection was driven by both IgA and IgG, while post-vaccination binding inhibition was mainly driven by IgG.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Monique van Scherpenzeel, Federica Conte, Christian Bull, Angel Ashikov, Esther Hermans, Anke Willems, Walinka van Tol, Else Kragt, Marek Noga, Ed E. Moret, Torben Heise, Jeroen D. Langereis, Emiel Rossing, Michael Zimmermann, M. Estela Rubio-Gozalbo, Marien de Jonge, Gosse J. Adema, Nicola Zamboni, Thomas Boltje, Dirk J. Lefeber
Summary: This study used ion-pair ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry to analyze sugar metabolites in cells and organisms and identified low abundant nucleotide sugars. Time-course analysis of the effect of an antitumor compound revealed full depletion of specific sugar metabolites within 24 hours.