Bacterial pathogens produce complex carbohydrate capsules that dominate surface chemistry, inhibit phagocytosis and induce immunological responses by the host. The pneumococcus, or Streptococcus ...

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have identified an enzyme that acts early in pneumococcal infections to promote bacterial survival and invasive disease by removing the bacteria's ...

Vaccines that protect people from infection by Streptococcus pneumonia, which kills up to 1 million children every year worldwide, train the immune system to recognize the pathogen's thick sugar ...

An enzyme antibiotics rely on to kill bacteria also promotes survival of pneumococcus and sets the stage for serious, invasive infections, scientists have discovered. St. Jude Children's Research ...