AUTHOR=Dollery Stephen J. , Zurawski Daniel V. , Bushnell Ruth V. , Tobin John K. , Wiggins Taralyn J. , MacLeod David A. , Tasker Naomi J. P. E. R. , Alamneh Yonas A. , Abu-Taleb Rania , Czintos Christine M. , Su Wanwen , Escatte Mariel G. , Meeks Heather N. , Daly Michael J. , Tobin Gregory J. 

TITLE=Whole-cell vaccine candidates induce a protective response against virulent Acinetobacter baumannii

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.941010

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.941010

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Acinetobacter baumannii</italic> causes multi-system diseases in both nosocomial settings and a pre-disposed general population. The bacterium is not only desiccation-resistant but also notoriously resistant to multiple antibiotics and drugs of last resort including carbapenem, colistin, and sulbactam. The World Health Organization has categorized carbapenem-resistant <italic>A. baumannii</italic> at the top of its critical pathogen list in a bid to direct urgent countermeasure development. Several early-stage vaccines have shown a range of efficacies in healthy mice, but no vaccine candidates have advanced into clinical trials. Herein, we report our findings that both an ionizing γ-radiation-inactivated and a non-ionizing ultraviolet C-inactivated whole-cell vaccine candidate protects neutropenic mice from pulmonary challenge with virulent AB5075, a particularly pathogenic isolate. In addition, we demonstrate that a humoral response is sufficient for this protection <italic>via</italic> the passive immunization of neutropenic mice.</p>