Protective efficacy of the chimeric Staphylococcus aureus vaccine candidate IC in sepsis and pneumonia models

Staphylococcus aureus causes serious sepsis and necrotic pneumonia worldwide. Due to the spread of multidrug-resistant strains, developing an effective vaccine is the most promising method for combating S. aureus infection. In this study, based on the immune-dominant areas of the iron surface determinant B (IsdB) and clumping factor A (ClfA), we designed the novel chimeric vaccine IsdB(151-277)ClfA(33-213) (IC). IC formulated with the AlPO(4) adjuvant induced higher protection in an S. aureus sepsis model compared with the single components alone and showed broad immune protection against several clinical S. aureus isolates. Immunisation with IC induced strong antibody responses. The protective effect of antibodies was demonstrated through the opsonophagocytic assay (OPA) and passive immunisation experiment. Moreover, this new chimeric vaccine induced Th1/Th17-skewed cellular immune responses based on cytokine profiles and CD4(+) T cell stimulation tests. Neutralisation of IL-17A alone (but not IFN-γ) resulted in a significant decrease in vaccine immune protection. Finally, we found that IC showed protective efficacy in a pneumonia model. Taken together, these data provide evidence that IC is a potentially promising vaccine candidate for combating S. aureus sepsis and pneumonia.