AUTHOR CONTACT:
Luis F. Santana, University of Washington Seattle, Washington, USA
Phone: 206-543-0986
Fax: 206-685-0619
E-mail: santana@u.washington.edu
View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/press/18684.pdf
ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY:
Hypertension: beta testing
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Michael Kotlikoff
College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
Phone: 607-253-3336
Fax: 607-253-3317
E-mail: mik7@cornell.edu
View the PDF of this commentary at: https://www.the-jci.org/press/19580.pdf
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Meningitis beats up the blood-brain barrier
Meningitis occurs when pathogens in the blood cross the tightly sealed blood-brain barrier (BBB). Kelly Doran and colleagues from the University of California, San Diego, have closely examined the initial response of cells that comprise the BBB to group B Streptococcus (GBS) the bacterium that causes meningitis in humans. Using microarray technology the authors showed that GBS infection induced a highly specific and coordinate set of genes known to orchestrate neutrophil recruitment and activation, thereby clearing the infection and enhancing survival. Doran and colleagues demonstrate that this striking immune reaction is induced in specific response to the potent b-hemolysin/cytolysin toxin release by this organism. The results will help our understanding of how the BBB responds to infectious diseases and may point to a therapeutic target.
TITLE: Group B streptococcal beta-hemolysin/cytolysin activat
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Contact: Brooke Grindlinger
science_editor@the-jci.org
212-342-9006
Journal of Clinical Investigation
2-Sep-2003