Watson D A, Musher D M, Jacobson J W, Verhoef J
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
Clin Infect Dis. 1993 Nov;17(5):913-24. doi: 10.1093/clinids/17.5.913.
Because of its prominence as a cause of disease in humans, Streptococcus pneumoniae has been the subject of intensive investigation at both the clinical level and the basic scientific level during the past century. In a number of instances, these studies have resulted in important progress toward the comprehension of basic biological principles. The areas advanced by studies of the pneumococcus include an understanding of the concept of pathogenesis of infectious disease; the development of Gram's stain for identification of bacteria in specimens from patients; the elucidation of the role of the bacterial capsule in resistance to phagocytosis by cells of the host's immune system; the demonstration that molecules other than proteins are capable of eliciting the host's humoral immune responses and later, by extension, that isolated bacterial exopolysaccharides can be used safely and effectively as vaccines in humans; the documentation of the efficacy of penicillin; the collection of conclusive evidence that DNA encodes genetic information; and the investigation of putative proteinaceous virulence factors.
由于肺炎链球菌作为人类疾病的一个重要病因，在过去的一个世纪里，它一直是临床和基础科学层面深入研究的对象。在许多情况下，这些研究在理解基本生物学原理方面取得了重要进展。肺炎球菌研究推动的领域包括对传染病发病机制概念的理解；革兰氏染色法的发展，用于鉴定患者标本中的细菌；阐明细菌荚膜在抵抗宿主免疫系统细胞吞噬作用中的作用；证明除蛋白质以外的分子能够引发宿主的体液免疫反应，后来进一步证明分离出的细菌胞外多糖可作为人类疫苗安全有效地使用；青霉素疗效的记录；DNA编码遗传信息的确凿证据的收集；以及对假定的蛋白质毒力因子的研究。
