The immunological mechanisms that control pneumococcal carriage

PLoS Pathogens

Daniela M. Ferreira¹  Simon P. Jochems¹  Jeffrey N. Weiser²  Richard Malley³ 

[1] Department of Clinicial Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, United Kingdom;Department of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America;Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children′s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America

关键词: Antibodies;    Neutrophils;    Vaccines;    Mouse models;    Vaccination;    immunization;    Macrophages;    Children;    Pneumonia;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.1006665

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

Colonization of the human nasopharynx by pneumococcus is extremely common and is both the primary reservoir for transmission and a prerequisite for disease. Current vaccines targeting the polysaccharide capsule effectively prevent colonization, conferring herd protection within vaccinated communities. However, these vaccines cover only a subset of all circulating pneumococcal strains, and serotype replacement has been observed. Given the success of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in preventing colonization in unvaccinated adults within vaccinated communities, reducing nasopharyngeal colonization has become an outcome of interest for novel vaccines. Here, we discuss the immunological mechanisms that control nasopharyngeal colonization, with an emphasis on findings from human studies. Increased understanding of these immunological mechanisms is required to identify correlates of protection against colonization that will facilitate the early testing and design of novel vaccines.

【 授权许可】

CC BY