title: Biologic properties and vaccine potential of the staphylococcal poly-N-acetyl glucosamine surface polysaccharide.
abstract: Staphylococci have become the most common causes of nosocomial bacterial infections, and this fact, along with increasing problems associated with antimicrobial resistance, spurs the need for finding immunotherapeutic alternatives to prevent and possibly treat these infections. Most virulent, clinical isolates of both coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) and Staphylococcus aureus carry the ica locus which encodes proteins that synthesize a polymer of beta-1-6 linked N-acetyl glucosamine residues (PNAG). Animal studies have shown purified PNAG can elicit protective immunity against both CoNS and S. aureus, suggesting its potential as a broadly protective vaccine for many clinically important strains of staphylococci.
authors.affiliation: Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. gpier@channing.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maira-Litran
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kropec
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldmann
authors.forename: Gerald B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Pier
mesh_terms: D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines; C113831:poly-N-acetyl glucosamine; D000117:Acetylglucosamine