Streptococcal Immunity Is Constrained by Lack of Immunological Memory following a Single Episode of Pyoderma

PLoS Pathogens

Manisha Pandey¹  Michael F. Good¹  Ainslie Calcutt¹  Victoria Ozberk¹  Mei-Fong Ho¹  Michael R. Batzloff¹  Emma Langshaw¹  Jessica Powell¹  Zachary Philips¹  Tania Rivera-Hernandez² 

[1] Institute for Glycomics, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia;School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

关键词: Antibodies;    Streptococcal infections;    Immunity;    Skin infections;    Blood;    Infectious disease immunology;    Spleen;    Enzyme-linked immunoassays;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.1006122

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

The immunobiology underlying the slow acquisition of skin immunity to group A streptococci (GAS), is not understood, but attributed to specific virulence factors impeding innate immunity and significant antigenic diversity of the type-specific M-protein, hindering acquired immunity. We used a number of epidemiologically distinct GAS strains to model the development of acquired immunity. We show that infection leads to antibody responses to the serotype-specific determinants on the M-protein and profound protective immunity; however, memory B cells do not develop and immunity is rapidly lost. Furthermore, antibodies do not develop to a conserved M-protein epitope that is able to induce immunity following vaccination. However, if re-infected with the same strain within three weeks, enduring immunity and memory B-cells (MBCs) to type-specific epitopes do develop. Such MBCs can adoptively transfer protection to naïve recipients. Thus, highly protective M-protein-specific MBCs may never develop following a single episode of pyoderma, contributing to the slow acquisition of immunity and to streptococcal endemicity in at-risk populations.

【 授权许可】

CC BY