Scientists Work Toward Staphylococcus Aureus Vaccination
There is a growing need for new ways to treat multidrug-resistant strains of staphylococci infections, beyond current antibiotic treatments, as antibiotic-resistant strains become increasingly prevalent.
Researchers at the University of Chicago recently published findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA on a novel approach to fighting staphylococcus aureus.
Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium frequently found on healthy people's skin. When the bacteria get through the skin's protective barriers, typically this results in a minor skin infection like a pimple or boil, and the immune system quickly clears staphylococci from the blood stream.
However, deep tissue infections can be life-threatening and can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, meningitis, and endocarditis (infection of heart valves).
Despite medical advances, staphylococci infections have increased in frequency, and are becoming more difficult to treat with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains, including MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus).
The new discoveries outlined in the published study have found that a mutation in one of staphylococci enzymes allows the bacteria to evade the immune system, and that protection against infections can be mediated by vaccination against staphylococci.
Source: Host defenses against Staphylococcus aureus infection require recognition of bacterial lipoproteins, PNAS, September 12, 2006; vol. 103, no. 37. 13831-13836.
