Dr. K. Shanthi, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Kalinga University, Raipur
Abstract
Antibiotic- resistant infections, or infections resistant to conventional treatment, have been a longstanding public health concern. Experts suggest that within few decades, many treatments might not work anymore against infections that are usually treatable. This is particularly true in the case of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) including methicillin – resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which are some of the most frequent causes of infections. This urgency has led researchers to find new ways to fight against antimicrobial resistance. While the conventional method for vaccine development often focuses on targeting specific antigens associated with a virus or bacteria, researchers have now taken an innovative approach by developing vaccines that target carbohydrates as the “target” antigen.
Key words
Antibiotic- resistant infections, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), methicillin – resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), poly-β-(1-6)-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG)
Bacterial infections continue to remain a significant threat to global health, and this situation is worsened by the widespread prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant strains, including those resistant to multidrug. In 2019, it was estimated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that about 3 million antimicrobial – resistant infections occurred annually1. Antibiotic resistance is rising to alarming levels in all parts of the world, with some pathogens showing resistance to nearly all the available antibiotics2. This highlights the urgent need to develop new strategies to prevent and treat infections. In parallel with the development of new antibiotics, vaccination has also become an important approach for combating pathogens 3.
Despite the success of multiple anti-microbial vaccines against many infections such as clostridium tetani, Bordetella pertussis etc, there are currently no approved vaccines against many other deadly pathogens including S.aureus 4,5. Selecting a suitable antigen poses a major challenge in vaccine design. The cell wall of S.aureus contains the polysaccharide known as poly-β-(1-6)-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG). This polysaccharide is primarily made up of glucosamine units linked by β (1-6) bonds, with around 80-90% of them N-acetylated6-9. PNAG present on the cell surface and also as an internal component of the biofilm, this polysaccharide has been found to have an important virulence factor that aids S. aureus evade the immune system10. Moreover, PNAG’s widespread expression in various pathogenic microbes and its pivotal roles in disease progression or pathogenesis make it an attractive target for vaccine development.
Highlights of PNAG-based vaccines
PNAG- based vaccine is a powerful strategy to develop the next generation vaccines and more effectively fight against pathogen infections including those by drug resistant strains 11.
Reference
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