Vaccine-Induced Th1-Type Response Protects against Invasive Group A <i>Streptococcus</i> Infection in the Absence of Opsonizing Antibodies
Tania Rivera-Hernández, Mira Syahira Rhyme, Amanda J. Cork, Scott Jones, Celia Segui‐Perez, Livia Brunner, Johanna Richter, Nikolai Petrovsky, Maria Lawrenz, David Goldblatt, Nicolas Collin, Mark J. Walker
Abstract
vaccine remains an unmet public health need. Here, we tested different adjuvant formulations to improve the protective efficacy of non-M protein vaccine Combo5 in an invasive disease model. We show that novel adjuvants can dramatically shape the type of immune response developed following immunization with Combo5 and significantly improve protection. In addition, protection afforded by Combo5 is not mediated by opsonizing antibodies, believed to be the main correlate of protection against GAS infections. Overall, this report highlights the importance of adjuvant selection in raising protective immune responses against GAS invasive infection. Adjuvants that can provide a more balanced Th1/Th2-type response may be required to optimize protection of GAS vaccines, particularly those based on non-M protein antigens.