Staphylococcus aureus, mostly known from its antibiotic-resistant variant Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is among the leading causes of both community- and hospital-acquired infections. According to the most recent data, MRSA killed around 120,000 people in 2022 globally and far more are killed by antibiotic-susceptible strains of S. aureus.
So far however, all attempts at developing a protective vaccine for S. aureus have been unsuccessful. Research from Amsterdam UMC, in collaboration with UMC Utrecht, Leiden University, and the University of California, San Diego, have discovered an important immune component that offers protection against infection, suggesting a new direction for the future.
These results are published today in Cell Reports Medicine. Our findings directly challenge the current way of thinking about staphylococcal infections. It is generally assumed that the recognition of S.
aureus by IgG antibodies, which helps immune cells to kill Staph, is key to offering protection. In this study we propose that this might not be the answer. We show that not IgG, but IgM antibodies are required for clearance of S.
aureus during an infection." Nina van Sorge, Professor of Translational Microbiology, Amsterdam UMC The research team, led by prof. van Sorge and Dr.
Astrid Hendriks, a postdoc in her group, explored the presence of S. aureus-recognizing antibodies in the blood of healthy individuals. They focused on particular sugars, which form a sort .