Therapeutic Approaches in the Combat of Pneumococcal Infection

Pneumonia cause by Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is prominent in the young and elderly. Our focus is improving prevention and controlling inflammatory responses during S. pneumoniae infection. Using a mouse model, studies tested the efficacy of nasal administration of a nanoparticle-based (NP) vaccine formulation to improve protection against S. pneumoniae. Studies also sought to determine the effect of nasal administration of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH). Results demonstrated that CRH administration decreased mortality compared to Dexamethasone. CRH's effect was associated with significant decrease in inflammatory responses and its protective effect was observed in the absence of neutrophils. A NP based vaccine decreased bacterial growth in lungs correlating with increased IFNγ production. This research suggests efficacious applications of prevention and treatment of pneumococcal disease.