June 9, 2023
Tokai University
Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy
A research group led by Lecturer Hitoshi Tsugawa of the Department of Host Defense, Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Tokai University (Isehara Campus), in collaboration with Associate Professor Juntaro Matsuzaki of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Keio University, has elucidated the host's defense mechanisms in the intestinal mucosa against Klebsiella pneumoniae . This bacterium is a commensal organism in the intestinal tract but can cause pneumonia and liver abscesses, primarily in the elderly. Furthermore, they demonstrated using a mouse model that it is possible to preventKlebsiella pneumoniaeinfection in the elderly by applying this mechanism. These findings are expected to lead to the development of preventive methods for bacterial infections in older adults.
This research was published in the online edition of the American medical journal "PLoS Pathogens" at 3:00 a.m. on Friday, June 9, 2023, Japan Standard Time (11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 8, Pacific Daylight Time).
The full press release is available below.