News Neuroscience

How meningitis-causing bacteria invade the brain

Experiments in mice show the microbes hijack cells in the brain’s protective cover

An illustration of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, represented as orange circles, infecting brain cells.

Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria are one of the main causes of bacterial meningitis. In this illustration, the bacteria (orange) are infecting brain cells.

KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images

By Jackie Rocheleau

- More than 2 years ago

Bacteria can slip into the brain by commandeering cells in the brain’s protective layers, a new study finds.