TY - JOUR
T1 - Lower density and shorter duration of nasopharyngeal carriage by pneumococcal serotype 1 (St217) may explain its increased invasiveness over other serotypes
AU - Bricio-Moreno, Laura
AU - Chaguza, Chrispin
AU - Yahya, Reham
AU - Shears, Rebecca K.
AU - Cornick, Jennifer E.
AU - Hokamp, Karsten
AU - Yang, Marie
AU - Neill, Daniel R.
AU - French, Neil
AU - Hinton, Jay C.D.
AU - Everett, Dean B.
AU - Kadioglu, Aras
N1 - Funding Information:
The study was supported by funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded to D.B.E. and from a UK Medical Research Council Programme Grant (MR/ P011284/1) awarded to A.K. L.B.-M. was supported by a University of Liverpool, Institute of Infection and Global Health funded Ph.D. studentship. R.Y. was supported by Saudi Cultural Bureau funded Ph.D. studentship. L.B.-M., C.C., R.Y., and R.K.S. performed experiments. J.E.C. and D.B.E. provided reagents. L.B.-M., C.C., K.H., M.Y., D.R.N., J.C.D.H., and A.K. analyzed data. L.B.-M. and A.K. conceived and designed the study. D.B.E. and A.K. supervised the study. L.B.-M. and A.K. wrote the paper with input from all authors.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Bricio-Moreno et al.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - Streptococcus pneumoniae is a frequent colonizer of the human nasopharynx and a major cause of life-threating invasive infections such as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. Over 1 million people die every year due to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), mainly in developing countries. Serotype 1 is a common cause of IPD; however, unlike other serotypes, it is rarely found in the carrier state in the nasopharynx, which is often considered a prerequisite for disease. The aim of this study was to understand this dichotomy. We used murine models of carriage and IPD to characterize the pathogenesis of African serotype 1 (sequence type 217) pneumococcal strains obtained from the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. We found that ST217 pneumococcal strains were highly virulent in a mouse model of invasive pneumonia, but in contrast to the generally accepted assumption, can also successfully establish nasopharyngeal carriage. Interestingly, we found that cocolonizing serotypes may proliferate in the presence of serotype 1, suggesting that acquisition of serotype 1 carriage could increase the risk of developing IPD by other serotypes. RNA sequencing analysis confirmed that key virulence genes associated with inflammation and tissue invasiveness were upregulated in serotype 1. These data reveal important new insights into serotype 1 pathogenesis, with implications for carriage potential and risk of invasive disease through interactions with other cocolonizing serotypes, an often-overlooked factor in transmission and disease progression. Importance: The pneumococcus causes serious diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Serotype 1 accounts for the majority of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in sub-Saharan Africa but is rarely found during nasopharyngeal carriage. Understanding the mechanisms leading to nasopharyngeal carriage and invasive disease by this serotype can help reduce its burden on health care systems worldwide. In this study, we also uncovered the potential impact of serotype 1 on disease progression of other coinfecting serotypes, which can have important implications for vaccine efficacy. Understanding the interactions between different serotypes during nasopharyngeal carriage may lead to improved intervention methods and therapies to reduce pneumococcal invasive disease levels.
AB - Streptococcus pneumoniae is a frequent colonizer of the human nasopharynx and a major cause of life-threating invasive infections such as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. Over 1 million people die every year due to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), mainly in developing countries. Serotype 1 is a common cause of IPD; however, unlike other serotypes, it is rarely found in the carrier state in the nasopharynx, which is often considered a prerequisite for disease. The aim of this study was to understand this dichotomy. We used murine models of carriage and IPD to characterize the pathogenesis of African serotype 1 (sequence type 217) pneumococcal strains obtained from the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, Malawi. We found that ST217 pneumococcal strains were highly virulent in a mouse model of invasive pneumonia, but in contrast to the generally accepted assumption, can also successfully establish nasopharyngeal carriage. Interestingly, we found that cocolonizing serotypes may proliferate in the presence of serotype 1, suggesting that acquisition of serotype 1 carriage could increase the risk of developing IPD by other serotypes. RNA sequencing analysis confirmed that key virulence genes associated with inflammation and tissue invasiveness were upregulated in serotype 1. These data reveal important new insights into serotype 1 pathogenesis, with implications for carriage potential and risk of invasive disease through interactions with other cocolonizing serotypes, an often-overlooked factor in transmission and disease progression. Importance: The pneumococcus causes serious diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Serotype 1 accounts for the majority of invasive pneumococcal disease cases in sub-Saharan Africa but is rarely found during nasopharyngeal carriage. Understanding the mechanisms leading to nasopharyngeal carriage and invasive disease by this serotype can help reduce its burden on health care systems worldwide. In this study, we also uncovered the potential impact of serotype 1 on disease progression of other coinfecting serotypes, which can have important implications for vaccine efficacy. Understanding the interactions between different serotypes during nasopharyngeal carriage may lead to improved intervention methods and therapies to reduce pneumococcal invasive disease levels.
KW - Cocolonization
KW - Colonization
KW - Gene expression
KW - Murine model
KW - Nasopharynx
KW - Pneumococcus
KW - Pneumonia
KW - Respiratory infection
KW - Serotype 1
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097514671&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1128/mBio.00814-20
DO - 10.1128/mBio.00814-20
M3 - Article
C2 - PMC7733939
SN - 2150-7511
VL - 11
JO - MBio
JF - MBio
IS - 6
M1 - e00814-20
ER -