Five cases of bacterial meningitis treated with ceftaroline (4 Streptococcus pneumoniae and 1 Staphylococcus aureus) are summarized here. The pharmacodynamics of human cathelicidin LL-37 and ceftaroline were evaluated against S. pneumoniae. Patients who received ceftaroline 600 mg every 8 h (q8h) (1 S. aureus and 3 S. pneumoniae) were successfully treated; treatment failed in 1 patient with S. ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major human pathogen, is closely related to the commensal species S. mitis and S. oralis. S. pneumoniae surface proteins are implicated in virulence and host interaction of this species, but many of them have recently been detected in S. mitis B6 in silico. We tested for the presence of such genes usinga set of eight S. mitis and eleven S. o...

Introduction: Raising antibiotic resistance has led the human community to more frequent application of herbal medicines. The tomato fruit, scientifically called Lycopersicon esculentum mill, is an important source of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, all with beneficial effects on human health. The present study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial effects of tomato aqueous extract on four ...

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a Gram-positive bacterium, is a major cause of invasive infection-related diseases such as pneumonia and sepsis. In blood, erythrocytes are considered to be an important factor for bacterial growth, as they contain abundant nutrients. However, the relationship between S. pneumoniae and erythrocytes remains unclear. We analyzed interactions between S. pneumoniae and ery...

BACKGROUND Streptococcus pneumoniae is one major cause of pneumonia in human and contains various virulence factors that contribute to pathogenesis of pneumococcal disease. This study investigated the role of pneumolysin, Ply, in facilitating S. pneumoniae invasion into the host blood stream. METHODS S. pneumoniae strains were isolated from clinical blood and sputum samples and confirmed by P...

Bacterial superinfections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality during influenza A virus (IAV) epidemics. We demonstrate that incubation with the combination of IAV and Streptococcus pneumoniae caused marked reductions in survival of neutrophils in vitro compared with treatment with control buffer or IAV or S. pneumoniae alone. This cooperative effect was in part mediated by acceler...

BACKGROUND Adherence of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria to lung cells is a first step in the progression from asymptomatic carriage to pneumonia. Adherence abilities vary widely among S. pneumoniae patient isolates. In this study, the binding properties of S. pneumoniae isolates and the effects of binding on activation of the Nuclear Factor-Kappa-B (NFkappaB) pathway and cytokine secretion by...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To evaluate the impact of 23-valent polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccine on Streptococcus pneumoniae colonization in the upper airway of patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 in Taiwan. METHODS 302 HIV-infected patients aged 15 years or older underwent swab cultures of the posterior pharynx and tonsils for S. pneumoniae between June 1, 2000 and June 30, 2002...

BACKGROUND Carriage of and infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae is known to predominantly induce T helper 17 (Th17) responses in humans, but the types of Th cells showing reactivity towards commensal streptococci with low pathogenic potential, such as the oral commensals S. mitis and S. salivarius, remain uncharacterized. METHODS Memory CD4(+) T helper (Th) cell subsets were isolated from ...