Immune responses and protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae elicited by recombinant Bordetella pertussis adenylate cyclase (CyaA) carrying fragments of pneumococcal surface protein A, PspA.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a common agent of important human diseases such as otitis media, pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. Current available vaccines that target capsular polysaccharides induce protection against invasive disease and nasopharyngeal colonization in children, yet their efficacy is limited to the serotypes included in the formulations. The virulence factor Pneumococcal Surface Protein A (PspA) interacts with host immune system and helps the bacteria to evade phagocytosis.

Off balance: Interferons in COVID-19 lung infections.

Interferons are innate and adaptive cytokines involved in many biological responses, in particular, viral infections. With the final response the result of the balance of the different types of Interferons. Cytokine storms are physiological reactions observed in humans and animals in which the innate immune system causes an uncontrolled and excessive release of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules.