Importance of the pro-inflammatory effects of the capsule during invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae infection

肺炎链球菌是全世界致命性细菌感染的第二大常见原因，占肺炎总数的一半，也是脑膜炎和败血症的常见原因。虽然人体的免疫反应会导致白细胞的募集，从而杀死外来生物，但由此产生的炎症也会对人体自身组织造成损害。肺炎球菌被一种由糖制成的胶囊包围，这对细菌避免被白血球杀死非常重要。然而，来自DRS Brown和Noursadeghi实验室的最新数据表明，该胶囊也影响对肺炎球菌的炎症反应，令人惊讶地导致促炎反应增加。这种效应可能严重影响侵袭性疾病的发展和严重感染的炎性并发症，如感染性休克。此外，肺炎球菌衣壳(血清型)有90多种变异，已知其严重程度和疾病类型各不相同。这些差异可能部分是由于不同血清型对炎症的影响不同所致。通过研究胶囊对炎症反应的影响及其机制，我希望找出潜在的治疗干预靶点，并提高我们对疾病发展的了解，从而降低肺炎球菌的发病率和死亡率。

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the second most common cause of fatal bacterial infection world wide, causing half of all pneumonias and is also a frequent cause of meningitis and septicaemia. While the body's immune response results in the recruitment of white blood cells allowing the killing of the foreign organisms, the resulting inflammation can also cause damage to the body's own tissues. The pneumococcus is surrounded by a capsule made of sugars, which is important for the bacteria to evade being killed by white blood cells. However recent data from Drs Brown and Noursadeghi's laboratories has shown the capsule also affects the inflammatory response to pneumococcus, surprisingly resulting in increased pro-inflammatory responses. This effect could critically affect the development of invasive disease and inflammatory complications of severe infection such as septic shock. Furthermore, there are over 90 variations in pneumococcal capsule (serotypes), which are known to vary in severity and type of disease. These variations could be partially mediated by differences between serotypes in their effects on inflammation. By examining the affects of the capsule on the inflammatory response and the mechanisms underpinning it I hope to identify potential targets for therapeutic intervention and to improve our understanding of disease development, and thus reduce the morbidity and mortality of pneumococcus.