A panel of monoclonal antibodies recognizing the Staphylococcus epidermidis fibrinogen-binding MSCRAMM SdrG

Monoclonal Antibodies Targeting Surface-Exposed and Secreted Proteins from Staphylococci

Staphylococci (specifically Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis) are the causative agents of diseases ranging from superficial skin and soft tissue infections to severe conditions such as fatal pneumonia, bacteremia, sepsis and endocarditis. The widespread and indiscriminate use of antibiotics has led to serious problems of resistance to staphylococcal disease and has generated a renewed interest in alternative therapeutic agents such as vaccines and antibodies. Staphylococci express a large repertoire of surface and secreted virulence factors, which provide mechanisms (adhesion, invasion and biofilm development among others) for both bacterial survival in the host and evasion from innate and adaptive immunity. Consequently, the development of antibodies that target specific antigens would provide an effective protective strategy against staphylococcal infections. In this review, we report an update on efforts to develop anti-staphylococci monoclonal antibodies (and their derivatives: minibodies, antibody–antibiotic conjugates) and the mechanism by which such antibodies can help fight infections. We also provide an overview of mAbs used in clinical trials and highlight their therapeutic potential in various infectious contexts.

Animals devoid of pulmonary system as infection models in the study of lung bacterial pathogens

Biological disease models can be difficult and costly to develop and use on a routine basis. Particularly, in vivo lung infection models performed to study lung pathologies use to be laborious, demand a great time and commonly are associated with ethical issues. When infections in experimental animals are used, they need to be refined, defined, and validated for their intended purpose. Therefore, alternative and easy to handle models of experimental infections are still needed to test the virulence of bacterial lung pathogens. Because non-mammalian models have less ethical and cost constraints as a subjects for experimentation, in some cases would be appropriated to include these models as valuable tools to explore host-pathogen interactions. Numerous scientific data have been argued to the more extensive use of several kinds of alternative models, such as, the vertebrate zebrafish (Danio rerio), and non-vertebrate insects and nematodes (e.g., Caenorhabditis elegans) in the study of diverse infectious agents that affect humans. Here, we review the use of these vertebrate and non-vertebrate models in the study of bacterial agents, which are considered the principal causes of lung injury. Curiously none of these animals have a respiratory system as in air-breathing vertebrates, where respiration takes place in lungs. Despite this fact, with the present review we sought to provide elements in favor of the use of these alternative animal models of infection to reveal the molecular signatures of host-pathogen interactions.

Expression of Staphylococcus epidermidis SdrG increases following exposure to an in vivo environment

SdrG is a surface-associated fibrinogen binding protein present in most strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis. Surface expression of SdrG was not detected by flow cytometry or immunofluorescence microscopy on S. epidermidis 0-47 grown in nutrient broth or in the presence of human serum. sdrG transcript levels increased 1 hour following a shift from growth in nutrient broth to growth in the bloodstream of a mouse and resulted in a concomitant increase in protein levels as detected by immunofluorescence microscopy. The environmental signal(s) resulting in the increase in expression is elusive, as growth under conditions known to mimic in vivo conditions (elevated CO(2), iron limitation, human serum, and citrated human blood) did not affect expression of SdrG. Immunizing mice with either the N1N2N3 (amino acids 50 to 597) or N2N3 (amino acids 273 to 597) subdomain of the N-terminal A domain of recombinant SdrG (rSdrG) elicited a robust antibody response; however, only mice vaccinated with rSdrG(N23) exhibited a significant reduction in 0-47 recovered after experimental infection. Since SdrG is expressed early during infection in response to specific host environmental cues present in the bloodstream and since antibodies to it are effective in reducing bacteremia, SdrG possesses attributes of a vaccine component effective against the pathogenic form of the ubiquitous human commensal S. epidermidis.