De novo identification of bacterial antigens of a clinical isolate by combining use of proteosurfaceomics, secretomics, and BacScan technologies

BackgroundEmerging infectious diseases pose a significant threat to both human and animal populations. Rapid de novo identification of protective antigens from a clinical isolate and development of an antigen-matched vaccine is a golden strategy to prevent the spread of emerging novel pathogens.MethodsHere, we focused on Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, which poses a serious threat to the pig industry, and developed a general workflow by integrating proteosurfaceomics, secretomics, and BacScan technologies for the rapid de novo identification of bacterial protective proteins from a clinical isolate.ResultsAs a proof of concept, we identified 3 novel protective proteins of A. pleuropneumoniae. Using the protective protein HBS1_14 and toxin proteins, we have developed a promising multivalent subunit vaccine against A. pleuropneumoniae.DiscussionWe believe that our strategy can be applied to any bacterial pathogen and has the potential to significantly accelerate the development of antigen-matched vaccines to prevent the spread of an emerging novel bacterial pathogen.