Multiple candidate vaccines against Staphylococcus aureus infections have failed in clinical trials. Analysis of a recent prematurely halted vaccine trial revealed increased mortality rates among vaccine recipients in whom postsurgical S. aureus infection developed, emphasizing the potential for induction of detrimental immune responses and the need to better understand the requirements for protective immunity against S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious efforts towards S. aureus vaccine development have largely focused on cell surface antigens to induce opsonophagocytic killing aimed at providing sterile immunity, a concept successfully applied to other Gram-positive pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae. However, these approaches have largely failed, possibly in part due to the remarkable diversity of the staphylococcal virulence factors such as secreted immunosuppressive and tissue destructive toxins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStaphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a human pathogen associated with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) and life threatening sepsis and pneumonia. Efforts to develop effective vaccines against S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStaphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) is a potent toxin that can cause toxic shock syndrome and act as a lethal and incapacitating agent when used as a bioweapon. There are currently no vaccines or immunotherapeutics available against this toxin. Using phage display technology, human antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) were selected against SEB, and proteins were produced in Escherichia coli cells and characterized for their binding affinity and their toxin neutralizing activity in vitro and in vivo.
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