Described as a "dramatic advance in understanding" of how the immune system responds to infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, it could lead to new drugs that trigger the same response without the full blown disease.
At present vaccines against the bacteria protect against seven different strains but this new approach should be universal being effective against all 92.
The teams from the University of Leicester and Trinity College, Dublin, say they have shown for the first time that a toxin in the bacteria not only causes symptoms but also benefits the body by triggering its natural defences.
Pneumolysin triggers a group of immune system proteins called inflammasomes which provide protection against infection.
The research has been published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.
Dr Aras Kadioglu of Leicester and Trinity's Dr Ed Lavelle believe this new knowledge of how the toxin interacts with the immune system will mean that new vaccines can be developed and targeted more effectively.
Dr Kadioglu said: "This is a very exciting discovery and offers a whole new approach to protecting against the bacteria.
"The holy grail would be to find a vaccine against all the strains."
Read more at The Telegraph
Pneumolysin triggers a group of immune system proteins called inflammasomes which provide protection against infection.
The research has been published in the journal PLoS Pathogens.
Dr Aras Kadioglu of Leicester and Trinity's Dr Ed Lavelle believe this new knowledge of how the toxin interacts with the immune system will mean that new vaccines can be developed and targeted more effectively.
Dr Kadioglu said: "This is a very exciting discovery and offers a whole new approach to protecting against the bacteria.
"The holy grail would be to find a vaccine against all the strains."
Read more at The Telegraph
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