Pneumococcal cell biology in a new light

Katrin Beilharz

Pneumococcal cell biology in a new light

Vertaalde titel van de bijdrage: Pneumokokken celbiologie in een nieuw licht

Katrin Beilharz

Moleculaire Genetica

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Hoewel bacteriën bijna overal te vinden zijn, zijn ze met het blote oog niet te zien. Daarvoor kunnen we een microscoop gebruiken: om kleine dingen te vergroten en zo zichtbaar voor ons te maken. Bacteriën groeien via binaire deling, waarbij één cel zich deelt in twee identieke kopieën van zichzelf. De meeste bacteriën zijn belangrijk of zelfs onmisbaar voor ons en onze omgeving. Sommige kunnen echter juist ziektes veroorzaken. Een voorbeeld hiervan is Streptococcus pneumoniae, ook wel de pneumokok genoemd. Deze rugbybalvormige bacterie kan ernstige infecties in het ademhalingskanaal veroorzaken. Sinds Fleming in 1920 penicilline heeft ontdekt, worden antibiotica gebruikt om bacteriële infecties te genezen. De toename in antibioticaresistente ziekteverwekkers is in de loop der jaren een serieus probleem geworden. Voor het identificeren van doelwitten voor nieuwe geneesmiddelen is het van essentieel belang dat we de basis van bacteriële groei begrijpen. De deling van een cel is een zeer dynamisch proces, waarvoor een (nauwkeurig afgestemd) samenspel van factoren nodig is. Wij onderzochten deze processen door individuele cellen te bestuderen met behulp van microscopietechnieken. Met behulp van fluorescente eiwitten kunnen we andere eiwitten labellen en hun lokalisatie binnen de cel daarmee zichtbaar maken. Een deel van ons werk beschrijft geoptimaliseerde methodes en gereedschappen voor fluorescentiemicroscopie die van algemeen belang zijn voor het veld. We hebben ook licht kunnen werpen op de regulatie van celdelingsprocessen, maar er is nog meer werk nodig om een duidelijker beeld te krijgen en nieuwe antibiotica te identificeren die de pneumokok kunnen bestrijden.

Vertaalde titel van de bijdrage	Pneumokokken celbiologie in een nieuw licht
Originele taal-2	English
Kwalificatie	Doctor of Philosophy
Toekennende instantie	Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Begeleider(s)/adviseur	Kuipers, Oscar, Supervisor Veening, Jan, Supervisor
Datum van toekenning	30-jan.-2015
Plaats van publicatie	[S.l.]
Uitgever	[S.n.]
Gedrukte ISBN's	9789036775878
Elektronische ISBN's	9789036775861
Status	Published - 2015

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Title and contentsFinal publisher's version, 402 KB
Chapter 1Final publisher's version, 579 KB
Chapter 3Final publisher's version, 550 KB
Chapter 4Final publisher's version, 3,13 MB
Chapter 5Final publisher's version, 495 KB
Chapter 6Final publisher's version, 882 KB
Chapter 7Final publisher's version, 417 KB
AppendicesFinal publisher's version, 523 KB
PropositionsFinal publisher's version, 263 KB

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Citeer dit

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title = "Pneumococcal cell biology in a new light",

abstract = "Although bacteria can be found almost everywhere, we cannot see them with the naked eye. For that we can use microscopes: to magnify small things and make them visible to us. Bacteria grow by binary fission, where one cell is dividing into two identical copies of itself. Most bacteria are important if not indispensable for us and our environment. A few, however, can cause diseases. For instance Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus), which has the shape of a rugby ball, can lead to severe infections of the respiratory tract. Since Fleming{\textquoteright}s discovery of penicillin in the 1920s, antibiotics have been used to cure bacterial infections. The increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens has progressively turned into a serious problem. In order to identify new drug targets it is essential to understand the basis of bacterial growth. The division of a cell is a highly dynamic process that requires a (fine-tuned) interplay of many factors. Our approach was to investigate these processes, by directly looking at single cells with microcopy techniques. We can use fluorescent proteins to label other proteins and then directly observe the localization within the living cell. Part of our work describes optimized methods and tools for fluorescence microscopy that are of general interest in the field. We were also able to shed some light on the regulation of division processes, but yet more work is needed in order to get a clearer picture and identify novel antibiotics that target the pneumococcus.",

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N2 - Although bacteria can be found almost everywhere, we cannot see them with the naked eye. For that we can use microscopes: to magnify small things and make them visible to us. Bacteria grow by binary fission, where one cell is dividing into two identical copies of itself. Most bacteria are important if not indispensable for us and our environment. A few, however, can cause diseases. For instance Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus), which has the shape of a rugby ball, can lead to severe infections of the respiratory tract. Since Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in the 1920s, antibiotics have been used to cure bacterial infections. The increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens has progressively turned into a serious problem. In order to identify new drug targets it is essential to understand the basis of bacterial growth. The division of a cell is a highly dynamic process that requires a (fine-tuned) interplay of many factors. Our approach was to investigate these processes, by directly looking at single cells with microcopy techniques. We can use fluorescent proteins to label other proteins and then directly observe the localization within the living cell. Part of our work describes optimized methods and tools for fluorescence microscopy that are of general interest in the field. We were also able to shed some light on the regulation of division processes, but yet more work is needed in order to get a clearer picture and identify novel antibiotics that target the pneumococcus.

AB - Although bacteria can be found almost everywhere, we cannot see them with the naked eye. For that we can use microscopes: to magnify small things and make them visible to us. Bacteria grow by binary fission, where one cell is dividing into two identical copies of itself. Most bacteria are important if not indispensable for us and our environment. A few, however, can cause diseases. For instance Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus), which has the shape of a rugby ball, can lead to severe infections of the respiratory tract. Since Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in the 1920s, antibiotics have been used to cure bacterial infections. The increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens has progressively turned into a serious problem. In order to identify new drug targets it is essential to understand the basis of bacterial growth. The division of a cell is a highly dynamic process that requires a (fine-tuned) interplay of many factors. Our approach was to investigate these processes, by directly looking at single cells with microcopy techniques. We can use fluorescent proteins to label other proteins and then directly observe the localization within the living cell. Part of our work describes optimized methods and tools for fluorescence microscopy that are of general interest in the field. We were also able to shed some light on the regulation of division processes, but yet more work is needed in order to get a clearer picture and identify novel antibiotics that target the pneumococcus.

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