title: Recombinant ESAT-6-like proteins provoke protective immune responses against invasive Staphylococcus aureus disease in a murine model.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is a common pathogen found in the community and in hospitals. Most notably, methicillin-resistant S. aureus is resistant to many antibiotics, which is a growing public health concern. The emergence of drug-resistant strains has prompted the search for alternative treatments, such as immunotherapeutic approaches. To date, most clinical trials of vaccines or of passive immunization against S. aureus have ended in failure. In this study, we investigated two ESAT-6-like proteins secreted by S. aureus, S. aureus EsxA (SaEsxA) and SaEsxB, as possible targets for a vaccine. Mice vaccinated with these purified proteins elicited high titers of anti-SaEsxA and anti-SaEsxB antibodies, but these antibodies could not prevent S. aureus infection. On the other hand, recombinant SaEsxA (rSaEsxA) and rSaEsxB could induce Th1- and Th17-biased immune responses in mice. Mice immunized with rSaEsxA and rSaEsxB had significantly improved survival rates when challenged with S. aureus compared with the controls. These findings indicate that SaEsxA and SaEsxB are two promising Th1 and Th17 candidate antigens which could be developed into multivalent and serotype-independent vaccines against S. aureus infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Bao Zhong
authors.initials: BZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Yan Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Candy Choi Yi
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Jian Piao
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Song Yue
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Wing Cheong
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Yam
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Richard Yi Tsun
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Kong Hung
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Sze
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Bo Jian
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China kyyuen@hkucc.hku.hk jdhuang@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Kwok Yung
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China kyyuen@hkucc.hku.hk jdhuang@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Jian Dong
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000276:immunology*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D058504:Th17 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D013209:Staphylococcal Vaccines; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic