Group B streptococcus is a bacteria that can cause one of the most serious infections in newborns: bacterial meningitis. This serious disease is the consequence of the bacteria crossing the intestinal and blood-brain barriers, because it is these “barriers” that protect the infant against the dissemination of microbes in the blood and in the brain.
A major step forward in the understanding of bacterial meningitis: researchers from the Institut Cochin, the Institut Pasteur, Inserm, the AP-HP and the University of Paris Descartes have identified a protein present in the surface of this streptococcus, which allows it to colonize and cross barriers, thus discovering what allows this bacterium to be a formidable pathogen in newborns.
“These results provide the first molecular explanation for the capacity of group B streptococcus to induce meningitis in newborns” explain the authors of this study.
The discovery of this protein and its crucial role during infection could have major implications in the development of new diagnostic tools. This protein could also constitute a vaccine target for the prevention of group B streptococcal meningitis.
