Project title

Pre-clinical assays of a GAPDH-based vaccine against Group B Streptococcus infection

Scientific Coordinator's name:

Paula Ferreira

Scientific Coordinator's e-mail:

pauferr@icbas.up.pt

Principal R&D Unit:

Immunobiology

Other R&D Units involved in the project:

Other R&D units involved in the project

Project keyword(s)

Group B Streptococcus; vaccine; GAPDH; neonatal

Short abstract and comments

Group B streptococcus (GBS), or Streptococcus agalactiae, is a leading cause of serious neonatal infection. Despite several efforts, there is no vaccine available to prevent GBS infections. Currently, the treatment for GBS infections is based on antibiotics administered intrapartum to colonize mothers. However, this led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant GBS strains. We have previously shown that GBS glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is a virulence factor for this bacterium and that maternal vaccination with a recombinant form of this enzyme confers protection to the offspring against this bacterium in a murine model. Until now, no antigen could fulfill the requirements for an effective GBS vaccine, that is, to be immunogenic and present, if not in all GBS serotypes, at least, in those associated with invasive disease in humans. Nevertheless, when different clinical isolates of GBS belonging to different serotypes when tested we found that secretion of GAPDH was common to all. In resume, we have found that rGAPDH is a good target antigen to be used as a vaccine against GBS infections. In this project we are assessing: how safe is this vaccine and what is the level of cross-protection achieved against other pathogenic microbes. If the safety of this vaccine is demonstrated, the use of GAPDH vaccination against GBS infections can be envisaged this would prevent the huge costs and known risks associated to antibiotic prophylaxis.

Potential uses/indications

Vaccine against GBS neonatal infection