Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33144660›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2020

Transformation of nonencapsulated Streptococcus pneumoniae during systemic infection.

Jessica L Bradshaw, Iftekhar M Rafiqullah, D Ashley Robinson, Larry S McDaniel

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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  5. Frontiers in microbiology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Jessica L BradshawDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Iftekhar M RafiqullahDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
D Ashley RobinsonDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Larry S McDanielDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA. lmcdaniel@umc.edu.
University of Mississippi Medical Center · USUniversity of North Texas Health Science Center · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a principal cause of bacterial middle ear infections, pneumonia, and meningitis. Capsule-targeted pneumococcal vaccines have likely contributed to increased carriage of nonencapsulated S. pneumoniae (NESp). Some NESp lineages are associated with highly efficient DNA uptake and transformation frequencies. However, NESp strains lack capsule that may increase disease severity. We tested the hypothesis that NESp could acquire capsule during systemic infection and transform into more virulent pneumococci. We reveal that NESp strains MNZ67 and MNZ41 are highly transformable and resistant to multiple antibiotics. Natural transformation of NESp when co-administered with heat-killed encapsulated strain WU2 in a murine model of systemic infection resulted in encapsulation of NESp and increased virulence during bacteremia. Functional capsule production increased the pathogenic potential of MNZ67 by significantly decreasing complement deposition on the bacterial surface. However, capsule acquisition did not further decrease complement deposition on the relatively highly pathogenic strain MNZ41. Whole genome sequencing of select transformants demonstrated that recombination of up to 56.7 kbp length occurred at the capsule locus, along with additional recombination occurring at distal sites harboring virulence-associated genes. These findings indicate NESp can compensate for lack of capsule production and rapidly evolve into more virulent strains.

Indexed as

Drug Resistance, BacterialAnimalsAnti-Bacterial AgentsBacteremiaBacterial CapsulesDisease Models, AnimalMicePneumococcal InfectionsStreptococcus pneumoniaeTransformation, BacterialVirulenceWhole Genome SequencingAnti-Bacterial Agents

Identifiers

PMID33144660
PMCPMC7641166
OpenAlexW3095981985

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.