The laminin receptor protein as a target for therapeutics against bacterial meningitis

脑膜炎奈瑟菌、肺炎链球菌和流感嗜血杆菌是全球细菌性脑膜炎最常见的病因。虽然这些细菌对目前使用的大多数抗生素敏感，并且可以针对这些细菌的某些菌株接种疫苗，但它们继续在所有年龄组中造成高发病率和死亡率。在设计新的预防和治疗策略之前，需要更好地了解疾病的过程。在最近的研究中，我们确定了一个关键的人类分子（层粘连蛋白受体，LR），参与介导细菌入侵血脑屏障。我们确定了LR结合分子上的三种细菌病原体，并进行了广泛的实验，证实了相互作用的特异性。在这项提案中，我们计划研究相互作用的分子和生物学特性，最终目标是利用LR-细菌相互作用来开发可以阻断细菌入侵血脑屏障的治疗和/或预防剂。

Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae are the most common causes of bacterial meningitis worldwide. Although these bacteria are sensitive to most antibiotics in current use, and vaccines are available against some strains of these bacteria, they continue to cause high morbidity and mortality in all age groups. Better understanding of the disease process is required before novel preventative and treatment strategies are designed. In recent studies, we identified a key human molecule (laminin receptor, LR) that is involved in mediating bacterial invasion of the blood-brain barrier. We identified LR-binding molecules on each of the three bacterial pathogens and carried out extensive experiments confirming the specificity of the interactions. In this proposal, we plan to study molecular and biological properties of the interaction with the ultimate goal of exploiting the LR-bacterial interaction to develop therapeutic and/or preventative agents that can block bacterial invasion of the blood brain barrier.