AUTHOR=Morimura Ayumi , Hamaguchi Shigeto , Akeda Yukihiro , Tomono Kazunori 

TITLE=Mechanisms Underlying Pneumococcal Transmission and Factors Influencing Host-Pneumococcus Interaction: A Review

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.639450

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2021.639450

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Streptococcus pneumoniae</italic> (also called pneumococcus) is not only a commensal that frequently colonizes the human upper respiratory tract but also a pathogen that causes pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. The mechanism of pneumococcal infection has been extensively studied, but the process of transmission has not been fully elucidated because of the lack of tractable animal models. Novel animal models of transmission have enabled further progress in investigating pneumococcal transmission mechanisms including the processes such as pneumococcal shedding, survival in the external environment, and adherence to the nasopharynx of a new host. Herein, we present a review on these animal models, recent research findings about pneumococcal transmission, and factors influencing the host-pneumococcus interaction.</p>