Dual Role of Hydrogen Peroxide as an Oxidant in Pneumococcal Pneumonia.

ABSTRACT: Significance: Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn), a facultative anaerobic Gram-positive human pathogen with increasing rates of penicillin and macrolide resistance, is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infections worldwide. Pneumococci are a primary agent of severe pneumonia in children younger than 5 years and of community-acquired pneumonia in adults. A major defense mechanism toward Spn is the generation of reactive oxygen species, including hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), during the oxidative burst of neutrophils and macrophages. Paradoxically, Spn produces high endogenous levels of H₂O₂ as a strategy to promote colonization. Recent Advances: Pneumococci, which express neither catalase nor

SUBMITTER: Mraheil MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8035917 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature