Inhibitory effect of hederagenin on Streptococcus pneumoniae pneumolysin in vitro

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important pathogen that causes otitis media, pneumonia, meningitis and bacteremia. As an important virulence factors of S. pneumoniae, pneumolysin (PLY) can penetrate cell membranes and lead to cell lysis and inflammation, which is one of the main causes of infection and damage of S. pneumoniae. Therefore, using pneumolysin as a target to study its inhibitors can provide a new treatment strategy for pneumococcal disease. This study analyzed the inhibitory effect of the natural compound hederagenin on PLY in vitro. The results show that hederagenin has great potential as a new strategy for the treatment of pneumococcal diseases. (c) 2021 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Institut Pasteur.