AUTHOR=Hosomi Koji , Hatanaka Noritoshi , Hinenoya Atsushi , Adachi Jun , Tojima Yoko , Furuta Mari , Uchiyama Keita , Morita Makiko , Nagatake Takahiro , Saika Azusa , Kawai Soichiro , Yoshii Ken , Kondo Saki , Yamasaki Shinji , Kunisawa Jun 

TITLE=QcrC is a potential target for antibody therapy and vaccination to control Campylobacter jejuni infection by suppressing its energy metabolism

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1415893

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1415893

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p><italic>Campylobacter</italic> spp. are a public health concern, yet there is still no effective vaccine or medicine available.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Here, we developed a <italic>Campylobacter jejuni</italic>-specific antibody and found that it targeted a menaquinol cytochrome <italic>c</italic> reductase complex QcrC.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The antibody was specifically reactive to multiple <italic>C. jejuni</italic> strains including clinical isolates from patients with acute enteritis and was found to inhibit the energy metabolism and growth of <italic>C. jejuni</italic>. Different culture conditions produced different expression levels of QcrC in <italic>C. jejuni</italic>, and these levels were closely related not only to the energy metabolism of <italic>C. jejuni</italic> but also its pathogenicity. Furthermore, immunization of mice with recombinant QcrC induced protective immunity against <italic>C. jejuni</italic> infection.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>Taken together, our present findings highlight a possible antibody- or vaccination-based strategy to prevent or control <italic>Campylobacter</italic> infection by targeting the QcrC-mediated metabolic pathway.</p></sec>