Development of a vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus based on novel targets

传染病仍然是世界各地的主要杀手。医院获得性感染和耐抗生素超级细菌的增加对英国医疗保健系统构成了持续的威胁。超级细菌中最主要的是MRSA（耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌）。MRSA是金黄色葡萄球菌的一种耐抗生素变种。所有金黄色葡萄球菌菌株，包括MRSA，都可以在人类的鼻子中生存，这形成了一个理想的宿主，可以感染病人。这也使得从人类环境中根除这些生物变得非常困难。为了解决持续存在的卫生保健问题，需要新的战略，包括抗生素和疫苗。目前还没有针对MRSA和其他金黄色葡萄球菌菌株的疫苗。接种疫苗的主要患者群体是透析患者、选择性手术患者和糖尿病患者。其他可能包括长期护理/疗养院的居民。有效的疫苗将在减少疾病负担和结果方面产生重大影响，并相应减少人力和财政成本。拟议项目的目的是生产第一个针对MRSA和其他金黄色葡萄球菌菌株的疫苗。我们已经确定并申请了新型金黄色葡萄球菌疫苗成分的专利。这些成分由所有菌株制造，并且是生物体引起疾病和/或生长的能力所必需的。因此，有机体不能没有它们。最重要的是，我们已经证明用这些成分接种实验性疫苗可以预防金黄色葡萄球菌感染。该项目的关键目标是开发我们的组件的最佳配方，以推进到临床。目的是测试成分和其他参数的组合，以选择最有效的配方，以进行临床前安全性评估和人体临床试验。

Infectious disease is still a major killer around the world. The rise of hospital acquired infections and the antibiotic resistant superbugs are a constant threat to the UK healthcare system. Foremost amongst the superbugs is MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MRSA is an antibiotic resistant variant of S. aureus. All S. aureus strain, including MRSA, can live in the noses of humans and this forms an ideal reservoir from which to infect patients. It also makes it very difficult to eradicate these organisms form the human environment. To address the ongoing healthcare problem, novel strategies including antibiotics and a vaccine and are needed. At present there is no vaccine against MRSA and other S. aureus strains available. The main patient groups for vaccination would be those on dialysis, elective surgery patients and diabetics. Others could include residents of long term care/nursing homes. An effective vaccine would have significant impact in reducing both disease burden and outcome, with associated reduction in human and financial costs. The aim of the proposed project is to produce the first vaccine against MRSA and other Staphylococcus aureus strains. We have identified and filed patents on novel S. aureus vaccine components. The components are made by all strains and are required for the ability of the organism to cause disease and/or grow. Thus the organism cannot do without them. Most importantly, we have shown that experimental vaccination with these components can protect against S. aureus infection. The key goal of the project is to develop the best formulation of our components to take forward to the clinic. The aim is to test combinations of the components and other parameters to select the most effective formulation to progress into pre-clinical safety evaluation and human clinical trials.