Central nervous system infections: how group B streptococci cross the blood-brain barrier

Central nervous system infections are devastating diseases, with a high mortality rate and long-term neurological disabilities in those who survive. They can be caused by a variety of pathogenic microorganisms – bacteria, fungi or viruses. One characteristic shared by all these pathogens is their ability to cross a major protective barrier in the brain, the blood-brain barrier. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the Hellenic Pasteur Institute in Athens have developed a new model of infection to elucidate the mechanisms used by these neurotropic pathogens to pass from the bloodstream to the brain.

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