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Infection and Immunity, July 2009, p. 2712-2718, Vol. 77, No. 7
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00115-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Anti-Alpha-Hemolysin Monoclonal Antibodies Mediate Protection against Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia{triangledown}

Brook E. Ragle1 and Juliane Bubeck Wardenburg1,2*

Departments of Microbiology,1 Pediatrics, University of Chicago, 920 E. 58th Street, Chicago, Illinois 606372

Received 30 January 2009/ Returned for modification 3 March 2009/ Accepted 9 April 2009

Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia is one of the most common invasive diseases caused by this human pathogen. S. aureus alpha-hemolysin, a pore-forming cytotoxin, is an essential virulence factor in the pathogenesis of pneumonia. Vaccine-based targeting of this toxin provides protection against lethal staphylococcal pneumonia in a murine model system, suggesting that a monoclonal antibody-based therapy may likewise prove to be efficacious for prevention and treatment of this disease. We report the generation of two distinct anti-alpha-hemolysin monoclonal antibodies that antagonize toxin activity, preventing human lung cell injury in vitro and protecting experimental animals against lethal S. aureus pneumonia. Each of these two monoclonal antibodies recognized an epitope within the first 50 amino acid residues of the mature toxin and blocked the formation of a stable alpha-hemolysin oligomer on the target cell surface. Active immunization with the first 50 amino acids of the toxin also conferred protection against S. aureus pneumonia. Together, these data reveal passive and active immunization strategies for prevention or therapy of staphylococcal pneumonia and highlight the potential role that a critical epitope may play in defining human susceptibility to this deadly disease.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology, University of Chicago, 920 E. 58th St., Chicago, IL 60637. Phone: (773) 834-9763. Fax: (773) 834-8150. E-mail: jbubeckw{at}peds.bsd.uchicago.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 20 April 2009.

Editor: J. N. Weiser

Infection and Immunity, July 2009, p. 2712-2718, Vol. 77, No. 7
0019-9567/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00115-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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