Proteome-wide antigen discovery of novel protective vaccine candidates against Staphylococcus aureus infection

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

  • Karina Juhl Rasmussen
  • Andreas Holm Mattsson
  • Katrine Pilely
  • Cecilie Antoinette Asferg
  • Ciofu, Oana
  • Lars Vitved
  • Claus Koch
  • Michael Kemp

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a rapidly growing problem, especially in hospitals where MRSA cause increased morbidity and mortality and a significant rise in health expenditures. As many strains of MRSA are resistant to other antimicrobials in addition to methicillin, there is an urgent need to institute non-antimicrobial measures, such as vaccination, against the spread of MRSA. With the aim of finding new protective antigens for vaccine development, this study used a proteome-wide in silico antigen prediction platform to screen the proteome of S. aureus strain MRSA252. Thirty-five different S. aureus proteins were identified, recombinantly expressed, and tested for protection in a lethal sepsis mouse model using S. aureus strain MRSA252 as the challenge organism. We found that 13 of the 35 recombinant peptides yielded significant protection and that 12 of these antigens were highly conserved across 70 completely sequenced S. aureus strains. Thus, this in silico platform was capable of identifying novel candidates for inclusion in future vaccines against MRSA.

Original languageEnglish
JournalVaccine
Volume34
Issue number38
Pages (from-to)4602-4609
Number of pages8
ISSN0264-410X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 31 Aug 2016

    Research areas

  • Antigen discovery, Proteome analysis, Staphylococcus aureus, Vaccine

ID: 173509620