猪链球菌（Streptococcus suis, SS）是一种重要的人畜共患病病原，严重威胁着人类健康与养猪业。过度的炎症反应不仅是SS致死的重要原因，也是其众多临床症状的诱发因素，然而，目前SS诱导过度炎症反应的机理却仍然未知，已成为SS致病机制中急需解决的关键问题。前期研究证明SS表面蛋白ZnMc具有强烈的促炎活性，是SS引起过度炎症反应的必要组分，能够显著影响SS的致病力，但其作用机制尚不清楚。基于此，本项目将围绕ZnMc激活炎性应答的分子基础与信号转导通路展开系统的研究，旨在挖掘ZnMc促炎活性所依赖的关键结构域、识别受体、胞内接头蛋白以及转录调控因子，从而阐明ZnMc激活炎性应答的分子机制，研究结果不仅能进一步揭示SS诱导过度炎症反应的机理，同时还能为全面理解SS的致病机制奠定基础。

Streptococcus suis (SS) is an important zoonotic pathogen, which severely threatens human health and swine industry. Excessive inflammation is not only an important reason for SS-caused death, but also an inducer of most other clinical symptoms caused by SS. However, the mechanism of SS-induced excessive inflammation remains unclear, which has become one of the most important problems in pathogenesis of SS. Our previous study indicated that the surface protein ZnMc of SS, with a strong pro-inflammatory activity, is an essential component of SS inducing excessive inflammation, and significantly impacts the pathogenicity of SS. However, its function mechanism remains unclear. Based on above findings, we will focus on the molecular basis and signal transduction pathways of SS-induced pro-inflammatory response to launch systematic research. This project aims to identify the critical structural domains, recognition receptors, intracellular adaptor proteins and transcription factors, which are responsible for the pro-inflammatory activity of ZnMc, thus clarify the molecular mechanism of ZnMc triggered inflammatory response. The obtained results could not only further reveal the mechanism of SS-induced excessive inflammation, but also lay the foundation for further researches on the pathogenesis of SS.