Interactions between blood-borne Streptococcus pneumoniae and the blood-brain barrier preceding meningitis.

ABSTRACT: Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is a Gram-positive bacterium and the predominant cause of bacterial meningitis. Meningitis is thought to occur as the result of pneumococci crossing the blood-brain barrier to invade the Central Nervous System (CNS); yet little is known about the steps preceding immediate disease development. To study the interactions between pneumococci and the vascular endothelium of the blood-brain barrier prior to meningitis we used an established bacteremia-derived meningitis model in combination with immunofluorescent imaging. Brain tissue of mice infected with S. pneumoniae strain TIGR4, a clinical meningitis isolate, was investigated for the location of the bacteria in relation to the brain vasculature in various compartments. We observed that S. pneumoni

SUBMITTER: Iovino F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3713044 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature