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Vaccination strategies for Staphylococcus aureus, particularly methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections have attracted much research attention. Recent efforts have been made to select manganese transport protein C, or manganese binding surface lipoprotein C (MntC), which is a metal ion associated with pathogen nutrition uptake, as potential candidates for an S. aureus vaccine. Although protective humoral immune responses to MntC are well-characterised, much less is known about detailed MntC-specific B cell epitope mapping and particularly epitope vaccines, which are less-time consuming and more convenient. In this study, we generated a recombinant protein rMntC which induced strong antibody response when used for immunisation with CFA/IFA adjuvant. On the basis of the results, linear B cell epitopes within MntC were finely mapped using a series of overlapping synthetic peptides. Further studies indicate that MntC113-136, MntC209-232, and MntC263-286 might be the original linear B-cell immune dominant epitope of MntC, furthermore, three-dimensional (3-d) crystal structure results indicate that the three immunodominant epitopes were displayed on the surface of the MntC antigen. On the basis of immunodominant MntC113-136, MntC209-232, and MntC263-286 peptides, the epitope vaccine for S. aureus induces a high antibody level which is biased to TH2 and provides effective immune protection and strong opsonophagocytic killing activity in vitro against MRSA infection. In summary, the study provides strong proof of the optimisation of MRSA B cell epitope vaccine designs and their use, which was based on the MntC antigen in the development of an MRSA vaccine.

Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen responsible for a diverse spectrum of human diseases and a leading cause of nosocomial and community-acquired infections. Development of a vaccine against this pathogen is an important goal. The fibronectin binding protein A (FnBPA) of S. aureus is one of multifunctional 'microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules' (MSCRAMMs). It is one of the most important adhesin molecules involved in the initial adhesion steps of S. aureus infection. It has been studied as potential vaccine candidates. However, FnBPA is a high-molecular-weight protein of 106 kDa and difficulties in achieving its high-level expression in vitro limit its vaccine application in S. aureus infection diseases control. Therefore, mapping the immunodominant regions of FnBPA is important for developing polyvalent subunit fusion vaccines against S. aureus infections. In the present study, we cloned and expressed the N-terminal and C-terminal of FnBPA. We evaluated the immunogenicity of the two sections of FnBPA and the protective efficacy of the two truncated fragments vaccines in a murine model of systemic S. aureus infection. The results showed recombinant truncated fragment F130-500 had a strong immunogenicity property and survival rates significantly increased in the group of mice immunized with F130-500 than the control group. We futher identified the immunodominant regions of FnBPA. The mouse antisera reactions suggest that the region covering residues 110 to 263 (F1B110-263) is highly immunogenic and is the immunodominant regions of FnBPA. Moreover, vaccination with F1B110-263 can generate partial protection against lethal challenge with two different S. aureus strains and reduced bacterial burdens against non-lethal challenge as well as that immunization with F130-500. This information will be important for further developing anti- S. aureus polyvalent subunit fusion vaccines.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common commensal organism in humans and a major cause of bacteremia and hospital acquired infection. Because of the spread of strains resistant to antibiotics, these infections are becoming more difficult to treat. Therefore, exploration of anti-staphylococcal vaccines is currently a high priority. Iron surface determinant B (IsdB) is an iron-regulated cell wall-anchored surface protein of S. aureus. Alpha-toxin (Hla) is a secreted cytolytic pore-forming toxin. Previous studies reported that immunization with IsdB or Hla protected animals against S. aureus infection. To develop a broadly protective vaccine, we constructed chimeric vaccines based on IsdB and Hla. Immunization with the chimeric bivalent vaccine induced strong antibody and T cell responses. When the protective efficacy of the chimeric bivalent vaccine was compared to that of individual proteins in a murine model of systemic S. aureus infection, the bivalent vaccine showed a stronger protective immune response than the individual proteins (IsdB or Hla). Based on the results presented here, the chimeric bivalent vaccine affords higher levels of protection against S. aureus and has potential as a more effective candidate vaccine.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs), endogenous small non-coding RNAs, are stably detected in human plasma. Early diagnosis of gastric cancer (GC) is very important to improve the therapy effect and prolong the survival of patients. We aimed to identify whether four miRNAs (miR-223, miR-21, miR-218 and miR-25) closely associated with the tumorigenesis or metastasis of GC can serve as novel potential biomarkers for GC detection. METHODOLOGY: We initially measured the plasma levels of the four miRNAs in 10 GC patients and 10 healthy control subjects by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and then compared plasma miRNA results with the expressions in cancer tissues from eight GC patients. Finally, the presence of miR-223, miR-21 and miR-218 in the plasma was validated in 60 GC patients and 60 healthy control subjects, and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves of these miRNAs were analyzed. RESULTS: We found that the plasma levels of miR-223 (P