# Capsule protects intracellular pneumococci during vascular endothelial cell translocation

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2021 · $222,750

## Abstract

ABSTRACT:
While Streptococcus pneumoniae (Spn) is generally thought as an extracellular pathogen, its ability to cross
through vascular endothelial cells (VEC) is a critical aspect of its pathogenesis. VEC transcytosis enables Spn
to escape the airway during pneumonia and cause bacteremia; it also permits Spn in the vasculature to invade
the heart and central nervous system. Spn replication and cytotoxicity at these and other sites of dissemination
is devastating and the consequences include life-long disability or death. Thus, gaining a better understanding
of how Spn interacts with VEC is critical in order to identify novel therapeutics that can block disease
progression.
Clinical isolates of Spn are almost always encapsulated. One way capsule protects the bacterium from
opsonophagocytosis is by impeding Spn interactions with host cells. Importantly, and despite the fact that
capsule is inhibitory of initial Spn attachment to VEC, we have collected seminal data that shows capsule
is subsequently required for Spn translocation across VEC; conferring resistance to the low pH
environment and reactive oxygen species (ROS) found within endosomes. Notably, isogenic mutants
carrying distinct capsule types differed in their rate of successful translocation after invasion, resistance to
noxious agents, and the ability to invade organs from the bloodstream. Thus, the biochemical properties of
each capsule potentially explains why different serotypes of Spn have distinct propensity for invasive disease.
Protection against intracellular killing / permissiveness of VEC translocation is a new virulence mechanism for
capsular polysaccharide. Our hypothesis is that capsule potentiates Spn tissue invasion from the
bloodstream by modulating intracellular fate. Testing of this hypothesis will inform us on the molecular
basis of pneumococcal pathogenesis and may lead to the identification of novel intervention targets. Because
many other bacterial pathogens produce a capsular polysaccharide, results from these studies may have
broad applicability to our general understanding of host-pathogens interactions. To test our hypothesis we will:
AIM 1. Determine how capsule impacts interactions with VEC.
1.a: Categorize Spn capsule types as permissive versus non-permissive for VEC transcytosis.
1.b: Determine the importance of capsule shedding during VEC transcytosis.
1.c: Identify the biochemical properties of capsule that protect intracellular Spn.
AIM 2. Determine how capsule impacts disseminated disease.
2.a: Determine how capsule impacts translocation across epithelial::endothelial cell barriers.
2.b: Determine how capsule type impacts progression from pneumonia to disseminated invasive disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10114968
- **Project number:** 5R21AI148368-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Carlos J Orihuela
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $222,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-03-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10114968

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10114968, Capsule protects intracellular pneumococci during vascular endothelial cell translocation (5R21AI148368-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10114968. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*