GENETIC ANALYSIS OF POLYSACCHARIDE CAPSULE BIOSYNTHESIS AND REGULATION IN STREPTOCOCCUS PNEUMONIAE

肺炎链球菌多糖荚膜生物合成及调控的遗传分析

• 批准号: nhmrc : 157923
• 负责人: A/Pr Renato Morona
• 金额: $ 25.14万
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: NHMRC Project Grants
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2001-01-01 至 2003-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://researchdata.edu.au/genetic-analysis-polysaccharide-streptococcus-pneumoniae/97858
• 关键词: GENETIC; ANALYSIS; POLYSACCHARIDE; CAPSULE; BIOSYNTHESIS

Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is an important cause of invasive diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis and bacteraemia in humans. Many people carry this organism in the nasopharynx asymptomatically. However, in a small proportion, the organism overcomes host defences and invades the body causing life-threatening disease. An essential virulence factor of the pneumococcus is the polysaccharide capsule which protects it from the immune defences of the host during an infection. Until recently, very little was known of the pneumococcal genes involved in production of this antigen. This project aims to continue characterization of these genes, and examination of the factors which regulate their expression. This regulatory mechanism may be very important, because production of increased levels of the polysaccharide capsule is believed to be an crucial step in the transition from carriage to invasion. An understanding of the molecular events involved in biosynthesis and regulation of capsule production will improve our understanding of the disease process and identify alternative targets for antimicrobial therapy.

肺炎链球菌是引起人类肺炎、脑膜炎和菌血症等侵袭性疾病的重要原因。许多人在鼻咽部无症状地携带这种微生物。然而，在一小部分情况下，这种微生物克服了宿主的防御，入侵了身体，导致了危及生命的疾病。肺炎球菌的一个基本毒力因子是多糖壳，它在感染期间保护它免受宿主的免疫防御。直到最近，人们对肺炎链球菌产生这种抗原的基因知之甚少。这个项目的目的是继续对这些基因进行表征，并检查调节它们表达的因素。这一调节机制可能是非常重要的，因为增加多糖囊的产生被认为是从携带到入侵转变的关键步骤。了解与胶囊生物合成和调控有关的分子事件将提高我们对疾病过程的理解，并确定抗菌治疗的替代靶点。