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A common bacterium found in the mouth and airways may help the lungs better defend themselves against pneumonia, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that exposure to Prevotella melaninogenica (P. melaninogenica), a type of bacterium commonly found in healthy airways, changed the behavior of immune cells in the lungs of mice. When the mice were later exposed to Streptococcus pneumoniae, a leading cause of bacterial pneumonia, their immune systems were better able to recognize, engulf and clear the bacteria.

The findings offer new insight into why some people are more resilient to respiratory infections than others and could eventually point toward new ways of strengthening the lungs' natural defenses against pneumonia.

"Our lungs encounter bacteria from our mouths and upper airways all the time, and those exposures may actually be helping to educate the immune system," said Sarah Clark, Ph.D., senior author and associate professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. "We found that exposure to P. melaninogenica changes the way immune cells respond, essentially putting them in a better position to fight a bacterial infection."

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of pneumonia, but exposure to the bacterium does not always lead to serious illness. Researchers have increasingly suspected that the community of microorganisms living throughout the airway, known as the respiratory microbiome, may play an important role in determining how well someone fights an infection.

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