Streptococccus pneumoniae is a major cause of human mortality and morbidity globally due to the prevalence of pneumonia and meningitis. Treatment is complicated by antibiotic resistance and by the inflammatory effect of lytic antibiotics, resulting in a need for new therapeutics. We searched for novel therapeutics amongst bacterial neighbours and found peptides which inhibit the growth of S. pneumoniae, reduce its colonization of the nasopharynx and its transformation rate. We aim to test the potential of these peptides, alone and in combination with antibiotics, as new approaches for the prevention and treatment of pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis.
