Scientists at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified two proteins that could be used for a potential vaccine against nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi). Working in a mouse model, the investigators found that administering two bacterial adhesive proteins that play a key role in helping the bacteria to latch on to respiratory cells and initiate respiratory tract infection stimulated protective immunity against diverse NTHi strains, highlighting the vaccine potential.
The findings were published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae is the most common cause of bacterial respiratory tract infections such as middle ear infections, sinus infections, and exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other underlying lung disease, resulting in significant morbidity in both children and adults. This organism is also an important cause of invasive disease such as sepsis and meningitis. Currently there are no vaccines or other approaches to protect against infection due to this organism," said senior study author Joseph W. St. Geme, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Our study has identified two proteins that stimulate both an antibody response and a broader cell-medicated immune response that protect against diverse strains of NTHiinfluenzae and thus may be valuable for inclusion in a vaccine to protect against a full range of NTHi disease."
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Research Paper:
