Article
Microbiology
Feroze Ganaie, Karsten Maruhn, Chengxin Li, Richard J. Porambo, Pernille L. Elverdal, Chitrananda Abeygunwardana, Mark van der Linden, Jens O. Duus, Carmen L. Sheppard, Moon H. Nahm
Summary: Pneumococcal serotype epidemiology has changed with the emergence of a new capsule type, 24C, which resembles 24F but has unique serological features. Pneumococci can modulate their capsule structure and immunologic properties with small genetic changes to evade host immune responses. This suggests a potential for the development of new capsule types within serogroup 24.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rei Nakamoto, Jeric Mun Chung Kwan, Jasmine Fei Li Chin, Hui Ting Ong, Josue Flores-Kim, Caroline Midonet, Michael S. VanNieuwenhze, Xue Li Guan, Lok-To Sham
Summary: Many pathogenic bacteria rely on a layer of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) for virulence, with the bacterial tyrosine kinase (BY-kinase) playing a crucial role in regulating capsule synthesis. The interaction between BY-kinase CpsCD and other proteins influences CPS polymer length and peptidoglycan synthesis in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Autophosphorylation of BY-kinases fine-tunes the activity of CpsC, providing spatiotemporal coordination between CPS and PG synthesis.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Immunology
L. F. van Beek, J. D. Langereis, H. B. van den Berg van Saparoea, J. Gillard, W. S. P. Jong, F. J. van Opzeeland, R. Mesman, L. van Niftrik, I. Joosten, D. A. Diavatopoulos, J. Luirink, M. I. de Jonge
Summary: Protein bodies (PBs) are insoluble, aggregated particles consisting of proteins that have the potential to be used as vaccine formulations. Studies show that PBs can provide superior protection against nasopharyngeal colonization by Streptococcus pneumoniae and elicit strong mucosal immune responses, making them a promising platform for next-generation vaccine development.
Article
Immunology
Sudhanshu Shekhar, Heidi A. Amdal, Fernanda Cristina Petersen
Summary: Mucosal immunization with S. mitis serotype 5 protects mice against S. pneumoniae serotype 5 infection and induces Th17 and predominant serotype-specific IgG/IgA antibody responses against pneumococcal infection.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Giuseppe Ercoli, Elisa Ramos-Sevillano, Rie Nakajima, Rafael Ramiro de Assis, Algis Jasinskas, David Goldblatt, Philip Felgner, Gisbert Weckbecker, Jeremy Brown
Summary: Although B cell depletion significantly impairs antibody recognition of S. pneumoniae in colonized mice, some protective immunity is still maintained, perhaps mediated by cellular immunity.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Feroze A. Ganaie, Jamil S. Saad, Stephanie W. Lo, Lesley McGee, Stephen D. Bentley, Andries J. van Tonder, Paulina Hawkins, Jeremy D. Keenan, Juan J. Calix, Moon H. Nahm
Summary: Streptococcus pneumoniae produces diverse capsule types, posing a threat to vaccines targeting pneumococcal polysaccharide capsule. Many capsule types remain uncharacterized. Identifying functional determinants of capsule synthesis is important for improving typing methods and discovering novel variants.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Tonia Zangari, M. Ammar Zafar, John A. Lees, Annie R. Abruzzo, Gavyn Chern Wei Bee, Jeffrey N. Weiser
Summary: An unbiased genome-wide approach identified novel vaccine antigens for Streptococcus pneumoniae, but did not provide protection against Spn colonization. However, protection was observed against an unencapsulated Spn mutant, indicating how the pneumococcal capsule interferes with mucosal protection by antibodies to common protein targets.
Article
Immunology
Vandana Govindan, Feroze A. Ganaie, Shincy M. Ramakrishnan, Shilpa Ravindran, Akhila M. Mavuppadi, K. L. Ravikumar
Summary: This study measured baseline IgG antibody levels in 108 healthy unvaccinated Indian adults for the first time using WHO-recommended ELISA, and found that the majority of participants had high baseline IgG levels, providing valuable data for evaluating the immune response of Indian adults to pneumococcal vaccination.
Review
Microbiology
Tong Su, Rei Nakamoto, Ye-Yu Chun, Wan-Zhen Chua, Jia-Hui Chen, Justin J. Zik, Lok-To Sham
Summary: This review summarizes recent progress on elucidating the structure-function relationships of CPSs in Streptococcus pneumoniae, including their synthesis mechanisms, regulation, host immune responses, and vaccine development. Provisional models of unsolved CPS repeating units were generated based on genetic and structural information, and biosynthetic pathways of known CPSs were illustrated in a standardized format to facilitate cross-species comparisons. Studying the intricate steps of pneumococcal CPS assembly promises to provide novel insights for drug and vaccine development and enhance understanding of related pathways in other species.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
David G. Glanville, Ozcan Gazioglu, Michela Marra, Valerie L. Tokars, Tatyana Kushnir, Medhanie Habtom, Nicholas J. Croucher, Yaffa Mizrachi Nebenzahl, Alfonso Mondragon, Hasan Yesilkaya, Andrew T. Ulijasz
Summary: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of bacterial pneumonia worldwide. The variation in the composition of its most important virulence factor, the capsule, can determine disease severity. This study demonstrates that the control of capsule synthesis is crucial for infection and is facilitated by two conserved transcription factors, SpxR and CpsR, through a regulatory element called the 37-CE. The variation of the 37-CE between serotypes suggests that it could be a critical factor contributing to the different disease outcomes caused by this pathogen.
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Tiantian Sun, Shiyan Mai, Hongzhao Mao, Huiting Li, Yunyao Duan, Shuai Meng, Jiaolin Bao, Ning Ding, Chengli Zong
Summary: Around 100 serotypes of Streptococcus pneumonia (Spn) have been discovered, with 90% of severe diseases in children caused by 13 serotypes. The burden of pneumococcal disease has been significantly reduced with the success of pneumococcal bacterial polysaccharide conjugate vaccines (PCVs). The non-vaccine serotype 31 has increased in prevalence. The revised structure of the serotype 31 polysaccharide (s-31-ps) has been reported, and a conjugate vaccine has been prepared using organic solvent instead of water.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Natalha T. Waz, Sheila Oliveira, Raquel Girardello, Nilton Lincopan, Giovana Barazzone, Thais Parisotto, Anders P. Hakansson, Thiago Rojas Converso, Michelle Darrieux
Summary: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a globally prevalent pathogen with a highly immunogenic polysaccharide capsule. Indolicidin, an antimicrobial peptide, has bactericidal effects against this pathogen, but the capsule variability may influence its susceptibility.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Wan-Zhen Chua, Matthias Maiwald, Kean Lee Chew, Raymond Tzer-Pin Lin, Sanduo Zheng, Lok-To Sham
Summary: MOP family transporters, responsible for transporting lipid-linked precursors to support glycoconjugate synthesis, were systematically tested for their ability to translocate noncognate cargo. Subtle changes in the transporter structure can accommodate different cargoes and potentially expand substrate selectivity. By evaluating the interchangeability of these transporters, important residues for substrate specificity and function were identified, with implications for glycoengineering, vaccine development, and antimicrobial discovery.
Article
Immunology
Feroze Ganaie, Angela R. Branche, Michael Peasley, Jason W. Rosch, Moon H. Nahm
Summary: Detection of oral streptococci as pneumococci in the upper respiratory tract can affect the World Health Organization-recommended carriage procedure. Pneumococcal vaccines could reduce carriage of oral streptococci expressing cross-reactive capsules. However, culture-free PCR-based methods in upper respiratory tract samples have limited usefulness for carriage studies.
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Matthew Cravens, Akhil S. Alugupalli, Vijay K. Sandilya, Stephen J. McGeady, Kishore R. Alugupalli
Summary: The study found that anti-PPS IgM alone is sufficient to confer protective immunity to Streptococcus pneumoniae, demonstrating that IgM response is adequate to generate an immune response.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Akuzike Kalizang'oma, Brenda Kwambana-Adams, Jia Mun Chan, Aishwarya Viswanath, Andrea Gori, Damien Richard, Keith A. Jolley, John Lees, David Goldblatt, Sandra Beleza, Stephen D. Bentley, Robert S. Heyderman, Chrispin Chaguza
Summary: Researchers developed a MLST scheme and defined sequence clusters of S. mitis using global genome data. The schemes captured extensive diversity and potential transmission events among healthy individuals. These tools offer a standardized approach for understanding the population structure of S. mitis.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Makoto Saito, Rose McGready, Halidou Tinto, Toussaint Rouamba, Dominic Mosha, Stephen Rulisa, Simon Kariuki, Meghna Desai, Christine Manyando, Eric M. Njunju, Esperanca Sevene, Anifa Vala, Orvalho Augusto, Christine Clerk, Edwin Were, Sigilbert Mrema, William Kisinza, Josaphat Byamugisha, Mike Kagawa, Jan Singlovic, Mackensie Yore, Anna Maria van Eijk, Ushma Mehta, Andy Stergachis, Jenny Hill, Kasia Stepniewska, Melba Gomes, PhilippeJ Guerin, Francois Nosten, Feiko O. ter Kuile, Stephanie Dellicour
Summary: This study compared adverse pregnancy outcomes in the first trimester of pregnancy after artemisinin-based treatment (ABT) versus non-ABTs. The results showed no evidence of embryotoxicity or teratogenicity associated with ABT during the first trimester. Artemether-lumefantrine was found to be the preferred treatment for uncomplicated P falciparum malaria in the first trimester, with fewer adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to quinine.
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Lindsey Baden, Flaminia Catteruccia, Abdoulaye Diabate, Cristina Donini, Francois Nosten, Scott O'Neill, Faith Osier, Aung Pyae Phyo, Nicholas White
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Immunology
Matthew Rajan, Natalie Marchevsky, Gemma Sinclair, Katie O'Brien, Kimberley Jefferies, Nelly Owino, Bassam Hallis, David Goldblatt, Mary Matheson, Hannah Cuthbertson, Parvinder Aley, Xinxue Liu, Matthew D. Snape
Summary: This study found that one of the three hexavalent vaccines used a meningococcal outer membrane protein complex as a carrier protein, which could potentially interact with the meningococcal vaccine. However, both Hex-IH and Hex-V provided similar protection against Hemophilus influenza type b IgG in infant immunization schedules, with the possibility that Hex-V may enhance protection against Hib.
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rebecca Grant, Jilian A. Sacks, Priya Abraham, Supamit Chunsuttiwat, Cheryl Cohen, J. Peter Figueroa, Thomas Fleming, Paul Fine, David Goldblatt, Hideki Hasegawa, C. Raina MacIntrye, Ziad A. Memish, Elizabeth Miller, Sergio Nishioka, Amadou A. Sall, Samba Sow, Oyewale Tomori, Youchun Wang, Maria D. Van Kerkhove, Marie-Ange Wambo, Homa Attar Cohen, Samuel Mesfin, James R. Otieno, Lorenzo Subissi, Sylvie Briand, David E. Wentworth, Kanta Subbarao
Summary: Vaccines for different SARS-CoV-2 variants have been authorized, but continuous monitoring is necessary to decide when vaccine antigen composition should be revised, along with clinical studies to assess vaccine effectiveness.
Article
Immunology
David Goldblatt, Nick J. Andrews, Carmen L. Sheppard, Samuel Rose, Parvinder K. Aley, Lucy Roalfe, Jo Southern, Hannah Robinson, Emma Pearce, Emma Plested, Marina Johnson, David J. Litt, Norman K. Fry, Pauline Waight, Matthew D. Snape, Elizabeth Miller
Summary: In January 2020, the UK switched from a 2 + 1 schedule to a 1 + 1 schedule for the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) based on a randomized immunogenicity trial. Carriage prevalence of vaccine-type pneumococcal strains remained similar between the two schedules. Ongoing population-level studies are needed to confirm these findings.
Article
Microbiology
Chalita Chomkatekaew, Janjira Thaipadungpanit, Pasco Hearn, Sona Soeng, Sreymom Pol, Leakhena Neou, Jill Hopkins, Paul Turner, Elizabeth M. M. Batty
Summary: Infection with ESBL-E is common in infants and leads to increased ICU admission and mortality. This study investigated the role of maternal transmission in colonization of infants using paired isolates from mothers and neonates. The results showed that vertical transmission outside hospitals is a common cause of ESBL-E colonization in neonates.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Helen R. Wagstaffe, Marina Johnson, Guled Osman, Patricia Martin, Paula Carranza, David Goldblatt
Summary: This article reports the development of a new vaccine against Klebsiella pneumoniae and the establishment of methods to measure antibody level and function. The results demonstrate the immunogenicity and specific killing ability of the vaccine in animal models, providing standardized assays for further clinical trials.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicoletta Basilico, Silvia Parapini, Sarah D'Alessandro, Paola Misiano, Sergio Romeo, Giulio Dondio, Vanessa Yardley, Livia Vivas, Shereen Nasser, Laurent Renia, Bruce M. Russell, Rossarin Suwanarusk, Francois Nosten, Anna Sparatore, Donatella Taramelli
Summary: The novel pyrrolizidinylmethyl derivative MG3 showed excellent antimalarial activity against drug-resistant parasites, both in vitro and in vivo. The compound exhibited comparable or better efficacy than chloroquine and other quinolines in rodent models of malaria, and its pharmacological profile met the requirements for further development.
Review
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ahmar Hashmi, Mu Chae Darakamon, Ko Ko Aung, Mu Mu, Prapatsorn Misa, Podjanee Jittamala, Cindy Chu, Aung Pyae Phyo, Claudia Turner, Francois Nosten, Rose McGready, Verena I. I. Carrara
Summary: This study examined the care and outcomes of preterm neonates in a special care baby unit (SCBU) along the Myanmar-Thailand border. The study found significant reductions in neonatal mortality rates and identified implementation factors that impact the delivery of evidence-based care, such as financial issues and social support systems.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Shweta R. Singh, Cheng Yee Tang, Bunsoth Mao, Sona Soeng, Clare L. Ling, Jocelyn Qi-Min Teo, Saphonn Vonthanak, Paul Turner, Li Yang Hsu, Rick Twee-Hee Ong
Summary: This study explored the association between recent hospitalization and asymptomatic carriage of multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales (MDRE) in Siem Reap, Cambodia using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). The results showed that MDRE is likely endemic within the Siem Reap community, and ESBL genes can be found in almost all commensal Escherichia coli.
JAC-ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
(2023)
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Ratna Wijaya, Marina Johnson, Nicola Campbell, Beth Stuart, Adam Kelly, Nicole Tipler, Tobias Menne, Matthew J. Ahearne, Victoria Willimott, Anna Bowzyk Al-Naeeb, Christopher P. Fox, Graham P. Collins, Ann O' Callaghan, Andrew J. Davies, David Goldblatt, Sean H. Lim
Article
Infectious Diseases
Katherine E. Gallagher, Ifedayo M. O. Adetifa, Caroline Mburu, Christian Bottomley, Donald Akech, Angela Karani, Emma Pearce, Yanyun Wang, E. Wangeci Kagucia, David Goldblatt, Laura L. Hammitt, J. Anthony G. Scott
Summary: This study aimed to assess the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) on population immunity in Kilifi, Kenya. The results showed that the introduction of the vaccine increased protective antibody levels in young children, but the levels waned rapidly over time. However, children aged 10-14 years showed consistently high antibody levels, possibly due to continued exposure to vaccine serotypes or memory responses to cross-reactive antigens.
LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Arjun Chandna, Yoel Lubell, Lazaro Mwandigha, Phattaranit Tanunchai, Asama Vinitsorn, Melissa Richard-Greenblatt, Constantinos Koshiaris, Direk Limmathurotsakul, Francois Nosten, Mohammad Yazid Abdad, Rafael Perera-Salazar, Claudia Turner, Paul Turner
Summary: Reliable tools are needed for managing childhood pneumonia in resource-limited settings. This study investigated the value added by biomarkers of infection response for triage of children with pneumonia. The combination of Ang-2 and LqSOFA showed improved discrimination and greater net benefit, guiding referrals in community settings. Further development and integration into patient triage is required.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Arjun Chandna, Lazaro Mwandigha, Constantinos Koshiaris, Direk Limmathurotsakul, Francois Nosten, Yoel Lubell, Rafael Perera-Salazar, Claudia Turner, Paul Turner
Summary: This study validates the performance of three severity scores in children from resource-limited primary care settings, with LqSOFA score showing the best discrimination. Converting the scores into clinical prediction models improves performance, reducing unnecessary referrals and incorrect management.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)