ArticleInfection and immunity2010
The Streptococcus pneumoniae capsule inhibits complement activity and neutrophil phagocytosis by multiple mechanisms.
Article in Infection and immunity, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 277 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
277 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 461 citations in OpenAlex.
- Analysing pneumococcal invasiveness using Bayesian models of pathogen progression rates.PLoS computational biology · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Trial
- A synopsis of competence-regulated virulence inVirulence · 2026Review
- Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Activity ofJournal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Half a century of pneumococcal vaccination in sickle cell disease: Are we winning the battle or losing immunity?Vaccine · 2026Review
- Clinical and laboratory features of pediatric Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia with viral versus bacterial co-infection.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- Clinical characteristics, risk factors, and pathogen spectrum of mixed infections in children withMicrobiology spectrum · 2026Article
- The oral-respiratory interface: modulation ofFuture microbiology · 2026Article
- An unrecognized host response to microbial exposure resets circadian timing.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Capsule and PspA Cooperatively Confer Resistance ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Transcriptional regulation of the pneumococcal capsule can dictate serotype-specific infection.Nature communications · 2026Article
- By dawn or dusk-how circadian timing rewrites bacterial infection outcomes.FEBS letters · 2026Review
- Future Pneumococcal Vaccines: Shifting from Capsular Polysaccharides to Protein-Based Immunogens.Vaccines · 2026Review
- Basal activation of ERK1/2 blunts the antimicrobial activity of neutrophils from old hosts against antibody-opsonized Streptococcus pneumoniae.Journal of leukocyte biology · 2026Article
- Identification of multiple Acinetobacter baumannii protein antigens as targets for potential immunotherapies using a novel protein microarray screening approach.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Stevioside curbs Streptococcus pneumoniae infection via inhibiting capsule biosynthesis.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Feeding the invaders: how metabolic imbalance shapes infection and biofilm development.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Investigation of the essential role of capsular polysaccharide in serotype 1Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026Article
217 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The Streptococcus pneumoniae capsule is vital for virulence and may inhibit complement activity and phagocytosis. However, there are only limited data on the mechanisms by which the capsule affects complement and the consequences for S. pneumoniae interactions with phagocytes. Using unencapsulated serotype 2 and 4 S. pneumoniae mutants, we have confirmed that the capsule has several effects on complement activity. The capsule impaired bacterial opsonization with C3b/iC3b by both the alternative and classical complement pathways and also inhibited conversion of C3b bound to the bacterial surface to iC3b. There was increased binding of the classical pathway mediators immunoglobulin G (IgG) and C-reactive protein (CRP) to unencapsulated S. pneumoniae, indicating that the capsule could inhibit classical pathway complement activity by masking antibody recognition of subcapsular antigens, as well as by inhibiting CRP binding. Cleavage of serum IgG by the enzyme IdeS reduced C3b/iC3b deposition on all of the strains, but there were still marked increases in C3b/iC3b deposition on unencapsulated TIGR4 and D39 strains compared to encapsulated strains, suggesting that the capsule inhibits both IgG-mediated and IgG-independent complement activity against S. pneumoniae. Unencapsulated strains were more susceptible to neutrophil phagocytosis after incubation in normal serum, normal serum treated with IdeS, complement-deficient serum, and complement-deficient serum treated with IdeS or in buffer alone, suggesting that the capsule inhibits phagocytosis mediated by Fcgamma receptors, complement receptors, and nonopsonic receptors. Overall, these data show that the S. pneumoniae capsule affects multiple aspects of complement- and neutrophil-mediated immunity, resulting in a profound inhibition of opsonophagocytosis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.