title: Synthetic Lipoteichoic Acid Glycans Are Potential Vaccine Candidates to Protect from Clostridium difficile Infections.
abstract: Infections with Clostridium difficile increasingly cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. Bacterial surface glycans including lipoteichoic acid (LTA) were identified as auspicious vaccine antigens to prevent colonization. Here, we report on the potential of synthetic LTA glycans as vaccine candidates. We identified LTA-specific antibodies in the blood of C. difficile patients. Therefore, we evaluated the immunogenicity of a semi-synthetic LTA-CRM197glycoconjugate. The conjugate elicited LTA-specific antibodies in mice that recognized natural LTA epitopes on the surface of C. difficile bacteria and inhibited intestinal colonization of C. difficile in mice in vivo. Our findings underscore the promise of synthetic LTA glycans as C. difficile vaccine candidates.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Broecker
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Christopher E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Mikrobiologisches Institut ? Klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen and Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wegner
authors.affiliation: Mikrobiologisches Institut ? Klinische Mikrobiologie, Immunologie und Hygiene, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen and Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mattner
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Ju Yuel
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Claney L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany. Electronic address: achakkum@its.jnj.com.
authors.forename: Chakkumkal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anish
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, 14424 Potsdam, Germany; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: peter.seeberger@mpikg.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Peter H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Seeberger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000187:drug effects*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013682:Teichoic Acids / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011134:Polysaccharides; D013682:Teichoic Acids; C009900:lipoteichoic acid
keywords: Clostridium difficile; LTA; carbohydrates; lipoteichoic acid; vaccine