AUTHOR=Bear Alex , Locke Thomas , Rowland-Jones Sarah , Pecetta Simone , Bagnoli Fabio , Darton Thomas C. 

TITLE=The immune evasion roles of Staphylococcus aureus protein A and impact on vaccine development

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1242702

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1242702

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>While <italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic> (<italic>S. aureus</italic>) bacteria are part of the human commensal flora, opportunistic invasion following breach of the epithelial layers can lead to a wide array of infection syndromes at both local and distant sites. Despite ubiquitous exposure from early infancy, the life-long risk of opportunistic infection is facilitated by a broad repertoire of <italic>S. aureus</italic> virulence proteins. These proteins play a key role in inhibiting development of a long-term protective immune response by mechanisms ranging from dysregulation of the complement cascade to the disruption of leukocyte migration. In this review we describe the recent progress made in dissecting <italic>S. aureus</italic> immune evasion, focusing on the role of the superantigen, staphylococcal protein A (SpA). Evasion of the normal human immune response drives the ability of <italic>S. aureus</italic> to cause infection, often recurrently, and is also thought to be a major hindrance in the development of effective vaccination strategies. Understanding the role of <italic>S. aureus</italic> virulence protein and determining methods overcoming or subverting these mechanisms could lead to much-needed breakthroughs in vaccine and monoclonal antibody development.</p>