Evaluation of some Staphylococcus aureus iron-regulated proteins as vaccine targets

Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen that is responsible for a wide range of infections, including bovine mastitis. Previously, 54 genes from S. aureus that were up-regulated in an iron-restricted medium and in mice were identified. Seven of those genes were selected from five iron-acquisition systems (isd, feo, sir, sst, and fhu), and the proteins were evaluated as potential vaccine targets to prevent bovine mastitis. The antigenicity of the recombinant proteins obtained with each studied gene was evaluated in rabbits and/or cattle. Immune sera were used to test the bacterial accessibility of the native proteins. All the proteins were immunogenic in rabbits or cattle. IsdH, IsdB, FeoB and SstD were expressed on the bacterial surface, with IsdB and IsdH more expressed in an iron-restricted environment. The capacity of antibodies to prevent infection was measured in a mouse mastitis model. Preincubation of S. aureus with serum against IsdH or with the pool of sera against IsdB, SstD and FeoB led to decreased colonization of the mouse mammary glands. Lastly, cattle immunization with IsdH induced a strong and long-lasting immune response with IgG2 production. The protein IsdH appears to be a good vaccine candidate to prevent S. aureus bovine mastitis.