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Lipoprotein immunoproteomics question the potential of Staphylococcus aureus TLR2 agonists as vaccine antigens
Author(s) -
Kretschmer Dorothee,
Hanzelmann Dennis,
Peschel Andreas
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
proteomics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.26
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1615-9861
pISSN - 1615-9853
DOI - 10.1002/pmic.201600351
Subject(s) - tlr2 , staphylococcus aureus , antigen , innate immune system , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , immunology , immune system , acquired immune system , toll like receptor , adjuvant , pathogen associated molecular pattern , antibody , immunity , pathogen , pattern recognition receptor , bacteria , genetics
Toll‐like receptor 2 (TLR2) is regarded as the major innate immunity sensor in infections caused by the Gram‐positive bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus . However, previous studies on the roles of TLR2 in S. aureus infections have been elusive and in part contradictory. It has remained particularly unclear if bacterial lipoproteins, the major TLR2 ligands, could serve as antigens with intrinsic adjuvant property for the development of protective vaccines. The study by Vu et al. published in this issue of Proteomics analyzed the antibody and T‐cell responses in human sera against major S. aureus lipoproteins. Notably, even lipoproteins released to culture filtrates at similar levels as established immunodominant antigens elicited only very weak or no detectable antibody and T‐cell responses, indicating that the potent TLR2‐stimulating capacity of S. aureus lipoproteins does not promote and may rather impair robust immune responses so lipoprpteins. Among several potential explanations it is tempting to speculate that the role of TLR2 in S. aureus infections may be more complex and more ambiguous than previously thought. The study of Vu et al. may thus provoke more detailed investigations on the roles of lipoproteins and TLR2 in innate and adaptive immunity against bacterial pathogens.