Treatment of Pneumococcal Infection by Using Engineered Human C-Reactive Protein in a Mouse Model.

ABSTRACT: C-reactive protein (CRP) binds to several species of bacterial pathogens including Streptococcus pneumoniae. Experiments in mice have revealed that one of the functions of CRP is to protect against pneumococcal infection by binding to pneumococci and activating the complement system. For protection, however, CRP must be injected into mice within a few hours of administering pneumococci, that is, CRP is protective against early-stage infection but not against late-stage infection. It is assumed that CRP cannot protect if pneumococci got time to recruit complement inhibitor factor H on their surface to become complement attack-resistant. Since the conformation of CRP is altered under inflammatory conditions and altered CRP binds to immobilized factor H also, we hypothesized that in or

SUBMITTER: Ngwa DN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7575696 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature