Efficacy of vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae

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Introduction

Antibiotic resistance is the decrease in effectiveness of a drug because the sub-population of the microorganism (usually bacteria) being targeted are able to survive exposure to the antibiotic. Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern because antibiotics select for growth of rare microorganisms in a population that is otherwise susceptible to the drug (Slonczewski and Foster, 2009). Bacteria gain antibiotic resistance in various ways, they can pump out the antibiotics through an efflux transmembrane, bypass target pathway, prevent antibiotic from entering the cell and through target mediated Antibacterial Resistance (Slonczewski and Foster, 2009). Streptococcus pneumoniae is a pathogenic, gram-positive, α-hemolytic, anaerobic bacterium that causes pneumonia along with other pneumococcal infections including meningitis, sepsis, cellulitis, bacteremia, septic arthritis, otitis, brain abscess, pericarditis and peritonitis. Mechanisms by which S. pneumoniae develop antibiotic resistance to penicillin (and its derivatives) is essential in the understanding of antibiotic resistance. Such mechanisms can be used to study how newer pathogenic, gram-positive bacteria; similar to S. pneumoniae, might develop antibiotic resistance. Due to increasing rate of antibiotic resistance it is important to study newer ways in which growth of S. pneumoniae can be inhibited. One such way is by targeting highly conserved surface proteins of S. pneumoniae, thereby disabling the bacteria from becoming virulent. This way the bacteria is not killed however, its ability to infect has finished. Subsequently surface proteins that are essentially virulence factors can be used to create vaccines that generate immunogenicity (Jedrzejas, 2007).

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Section 1

Include some current research in each topic, with at least one figure showing data.

Section 2

Include some current research in each topic, with at least one figure showing data.

Section 3

Include some current research in each topic, with at least one figure showing data.

Conclusion

Overall paper length should be 3,000 words, with at least 3 figures.

References

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

Edited by (your name here), a student of Nora Sullivan in BIOL187S (Microbial Life) in The Keck Science Department of the Claremont Colleges Spring 2013.