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Kleinhenz M, Li Z, Chidella U, Picard W, Wolfe A, Popelka J, Alexander R, Montgomery CP. Toxin-neutralizing Abs are associated with improved T cell function following recovery from Staphylococcus aureus infection. JCI Insight 2024; 9:e173526. [PMID: 38236641 PMCID: PMC11143924 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.173526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUNDT cell responses are impaired in Staphylococcus aureus-infected children, highlighting a potential mechanism of immune evasion. This study tested the hypotheses that toxin-specific antibodies protect immune cells from bacterial killing and are associated with improved T cell function following infection.METHODSS. aureus-infected and healthy children (N = 33 each) were prospectively enrolled. During acute infection and convalescence, we quantified toxin-specific IgG levels by ELISA, antibody function using a cell killing assay, and functional T cell responses by ELISPOT.RESULTSThere were no differences in toxin-specific IgG levels or ability to neutralize toxin-mediated immune cell killing between healthy and acutely infected children, but antibody levels and function increased following infection. Similarly, T cell function, which was impaired during acute infection, improved following infection. However, the response to infection was highly variable; up to half of children did not have improved antibody or T cell function. Serum from children with higher α-hemolysin-specific IgG levels more strongly protected immune cells against toxin-mediated killing. Importantly, children whose serum more strongly protected against toxin-mediated killing also had stronger immune responses to infection, characterized by more elicited antibodies and greater improvement in T cell function following infection.CONCLUSIONThis study demonstrates that, despite T cell impairment during acute infection, S. aureus elicits toxin-neutralizing antibodies. Individual antibody responses and T cell recovery are variable. These findings also suggest that toxin-neutralizing antibodies protect antigen-presenting cells and T cells, thereby promoting immune recovery. Finally, failure to elicit toxin-neutralizing antibodies may identify children at risk for prolonged T cell suppression.FUNDINGNIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases R01AI125489 and Nationwide Children's Hospital.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maureen Kleinhenz
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Abigail Wexner Research Institute
| | - Zhaotao Li
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Abigail Wexner Research Institute
| | - Usha Chidella
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Abigail Wexner Research Institute
| | - Walissa Picard
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Abigail Wexner Research Institute
| | | | | | - Robin Alexander
- Biostatistics Resource, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Christopher P. Montgomery
- Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, Abigail Wexner Research Institute
- Division of Critical Care Medicine; and
- Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Tsai CM, Hajam IA, Caldera JR, Liu GY. Integrating complex host-pathogen immune environments into S. aureus vaccine studies. Cell Chem Biol 2022; 29:730-740. [PMID: 35594849 DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2022.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a leading cause of bacterial infection and antibiotic resistance globally. Therefore, development of an effective vaccine has been a major goal of the SA field for the past decades. With the wealth of understanding of pathogenesis, the failure of all SA vaccine trials has been a surprise. We argue that experimental SA vaccines have not worked because vaccines have been studied in naive laboratory animals, whereas clinical vaccine efficacy is tested in immune environments reprogrammed by SA. Here, we review the failed SA vaccines that have seemingly defied all principles of vaccinology. We describe major SA evasion strategies and suggest that they reshape the immune environment in a way that makes vaccines prone to failures. We propose that appropriate integration of concepts of host-pathogen interaction into vaccine study designs could lead to insight critical for the development of an effective SA vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chih-Ming Tsai
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Irshad A Hajam
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - J R Caldera
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - George Y Liu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Division of Infectious Diseases, Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA 92123, USA.
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Wong Fok Lung T, Chan LC, Prince A, Yeaman MR, Archer NK, Aman MJ, Proctor RA. Staphylococcus aureus adaptive evolution: Recent insights on how immune evasion, immunometabolic subversion and host genetics impact vaccine development. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2022; 12:1060810. [PMID: 36636720 PMCID: PMC9831658 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.1060810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite meritorious attempts, a S. aureus vaccine that prevents infection or mitigates severity has not yet achieved efficacy endpoints in prospective, randomized clinical trials. This experience underscores the complexity of host-S. aureus interactions, which appear to be greater than many other bacterial pathogens against which successful vaccines have been developed. It is increasingly evident that S. aureus employs strategic countermeasures to evade or exploit human immune responses. From entering host cells to persist in stealthy intracellular reservoirs, to sensing the environmental milieu and leveraging bacterial or host metabolic products to reprogram host immune responses, S. aureus poses considerable challenges for the development of effective vaccines. The fact that this pathogen causes distinct types of infections and can undergo transient genetic, transcriptional or metabolic adaptations in vivo that do not occur in vitro compounds challenges in vaccine development. Notably, the metabolic versatility of both bacterial and host immune cells as they compete for available substrates within specific tissues inevitably impacts the variable repertoire of gene products that may or may not be vaccine antigens. In this respect, S. aureus has chameleon phenotypes that have alluded vaccine strategies thus far. Nonetheless, a number of recent studies have also revealed important new insights into pathogenesis vulnerabilities of S. aureus. A more detailed understanding of host protective immune defenses versus S. aureus adaptive immune evasion mechanisms may offer breakthroughs in the development of effective vaccines, but at present this goal remains a very high bar. Coupled with the recent advances in human genetics and epigenetics, newer vaccine technologies may enable such a goal. If so, future vaccines that protect against or mitigate the severity of S. aureus infections are likely to emerge at the intersection of precision and personalized medicine. For now, the development of S. aureus vaccines or alternative therapies that reduce mortality and morbidity must continue to be pursued.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Liana C Chan
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Loss Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Divisions of Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Harbor-University of California Loss Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, Torrance, CA, United States.,Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-University of California Loss Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, Torrance, CA, United States
| | - Alice Prince
- Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Michael R Yeaman
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Loss Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Divisions of Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Harbor-University of California Loss Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, Torrance, CA, United States.,Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-University of California Loss Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, Torrance, CA, United States
| | - Nathan K Archer
- Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - M Javad Aman
- Integrated BioTherapeutics, Rockville, MD, United States
| | - Richard A Proctor
- Department of Medicine and Medical Microbiology/Immunology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States
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