Rodger Novak

TL;DR: It is concluded that broad antibiotic tolerance of S.pneumoniae has emerged in the community by a molecular mechanism that eliminates sensitivity to the current cornerstone of therapy, vancomycin.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor N-benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl-ketone (z-VAD-fmk) prevented hippocampal neuronal cell death and white blood cell influx into the cerebrospinal fluid compartment in experimental pneumococcal meningitis.

TL;DR: It is shown that a soluble toxin of Streptococcus pneumoniae, pneumolysin (Pln), is a key component initiating NO production from macrophage, and acts as an agonist of tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 6 production in macrophages.

TL;DR: The Tupelo strain evidenced no lysis in the exponential or stationary phase of growth when exposed to vancomycin and only minimal loss of viability, indicating that the defect leading to tolerance in the Tupelo strains is in the control pathway for triggering of autolysis.

TL;DR: It is shown that AIF may play a central role in brain cell apoptosis and bacterial pathogenesis, and intracytoplasmatic microinjection of AIF-specific antiserum markedly impaired pneumococcus-induced apoptosis.