A BRIEF-HISTORY OF THE PNEUMOCOCCUS IN BIOMEDICAL-RESEARCH - A PANOPLY OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY

Because of its prominence as a cause of disease in humans, Streptococc us pneumoniae has been the subject of intensive investigation at both the clinical level and the basic scientific level during the past cent ury. In a number of instances, these studies have resulted in importan t progress toward the comprehension of basic biological principles. Th e areas advanced by studies of the pneumococcus include an understandi ng of the concept of pathogenesis of infectious disease; the developme nt of Gram's stain for identification of bacteria in specimens from pa tients; the elucidation of the role of the bacterial capsule in resist ance to phagocytosis by cells of the host's immune system; the demonst ration that molecules other than proteins are capable of eliciting the host's humoral immune responses and later, by extension, that isolate d bacterial exopolysaccharides can be used safely and effectively as v accines in humans; the documentation of the efficacy of penicillin; th e collection of conclusive evidence that DNA encodes genetic informati on; and the investigation of putative proteinaceous virulence factors.