American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine
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Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. · Jul 2014
RSV Increases the Virulence of Streptococcus pneumoniae by Binding to PBP1a: a New Paradigm in Respiratory Infection.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Streptococcus pneumoniae are major respiratory pathogens. Coinfection with RSV and S. pneumoniae is associated with severe and often fatal pneumonia but the molecular basis for this remains unclear. ⋯ The direct interaction between a respiratory virus protein and the pneumococcus resulting in increased bacterial virulence and worsening disease outcome is a new paradigm in respiratory infection.