Antibodies help improve vaccine against Pneumonia
A group of researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has discovered a new type of antibodies that can help in the treatment against pneumonia.
The study conducted on mice so far, has reached the conclusion that antibodies instead of killing the bacteria as it was believed so far, it determines the bacteria to create a "connection". This is called quorum sensing.
Basically, through quorum sensing, bacteria communicate with one another. The antibodies capability of doing this, determines the bacteria to express genes that can kill part of her siblings and weaken the defense mechanisms that allowed bacteria to grow in all kind of environments. This is called fratricide.
Why is this discovery so important?
According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, approximately 175.000 people are annually hospitalized with pneumococcal bacteria. Even more people die because of the virus spreading and leading to meningitis or bloodstream infections.
Basically, it is an inflammatory condition of the lung and is usually caused by an infection with different agents like bacteria viruses etc. The symptoms usually include fever, chest pain and a lack of air space which can be seen through an X-Ray.
Today, there is available a vaccine for adults and one for children. Due to these vaccines, improvements have been shown through a decrease in the number of people infected which also led to stopping the virus from spreading.
Nevertheless, the current vaccines don't prevent pneumonia from occurring, they only prevent the spread from a ill person to another. One person can become ill at any time, without being able to prevent it.
This is why, understanding the way in which antibodies work in relation to the bacteria is crucial information in order to develop a virus that will also prevent the disease and not just cure it.
The study was conducted by Liise-Anne Pirofsky, an MD Professor of medicine and microbiology& immunology at Einstein College of Medicine and will be published in the online journal of the American Society for Microbiology, mBio.
