Extracellular-matrix-binding proteins as targets for the prevention of Staphylococcus aureus infections

Staphylococcal infections cause a number of serious diseases, ranging from acute septicaemia to chronic problems such as osteomyelitis and septic arth ritis. Resistance to antibiotics is a growing problem and has re-ignited in terest in vaccines and in passive immunization with antibodies. Natural inf ections and vaccines based on whole bacteria lead to poor antibody response s, but recent research using animal models of several staphylococcal diseas es reveals that vaccines based on recombinant staphylococcal extracellular- matrix-binding proteins are much mom protective. Passive immunization with antibodies against one of these proteins (collagen-binding protein) also sh ows promise in a mouse model of sepsis.