Vaccines to Combat Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections in Immunocompromised Patients
Jennifer M. Scarff and Joanna B. Goldberg
from: Vaccine Design: Innovative Approaches and Novel Strategies (Edited by: Rino Rappuoli and Fabio Bagnoli). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2011)
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important opportunistic pathogen that causes an array of nosocomial infections, such as ventilator-associated pneumonia and infections in cancer patients. P. aeruginosa infections are difficult to treat with antibiotics, making the need for other therapeutic options, such as vaccination, critical. Animal models, such as immunocompromised mice and dogs, have been used to investigate the efficacy of P. aeruginosa-specific vaccines. The main target antigen for these vaccines has been the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of P. aeruginosa. These animal models have demonstrated that vaccination may be partially protective, but that a combination of vaccination with either antibiotic treatment or cell transfusion protocols typically works best. The efficacy of vaccination, particularly against LPS, has been investigated in human cancer patients. These patients were capable of mounting an immune response, but it was often short-lived or accompanied by severe side effects. An anti-Pseudomonas vaccine could be beneficial to aid in treatment of nosocomial infections caused by this bacterium, but would need optimization for better efficacy read more ...
