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Vaccine development for the human pathogen Group A Streptococcus
Conference presentation

Vaccine development for the human pathogen Group A Streptococcus

David J McMillan
USC Research Conference, 2013 (Sunshine Coast, Australia, 01-Jul-2013–05-Jul-2013)
University of the Sunshine Coast
2013
url
https://www.usc.edu.au/View
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Abstract

Clinical Sciences Streptococcus vaccine
Diseases associated with Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A streptococcus, GAS) account for half a million human deaths each year. These deaths predominantly occur in developing countries, and Indigenous groups within developed nations. The Australian Indigenous population is particularly susceptible to streptococcal disease, with rates of disease far exceeding that of the Caucasian population. The morbidity and mortality associated with GAS infection have spurred research into the development of a safe efficacious GAS vaccine that prevents primary infection. The M-protein, the most abundant protein on the surface of GAS, is also a favoured vaccine candidate. The M-protein consists of a hypervariable amino-terminus, followed by a number of repeat regions that demonstrate increasing conservation. As the central region of the M-protein includes epitopes that induce immunologically cross-reactive immune responses that contribute to RHD a full length M-protein is not a viable optional as a vaccine candidate. Most M-protein based strategies have focussed on shorter immunogenic regions of the M-protein. Our approach to GAS vaccine development has been to identify and link variant sequences of the M-protein as single fusion proteins. This seminar will describe progress in the development of vaccines against GAS, a pathogen which is one of the top ten infectious killers of humans.

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