• Colleen Olive, Hsien Kuo Sun, Mei-Fong Ho, Joanne Dyer, Aniko Horváth, Istvan Toth, and Michael F Good.
• Cooperative Research Centre for Vaccine Technology, The Queensland Institute of Medical Research, PO Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland 4029, Australia. colleenO@qimr.edu.au
• J. Infect. Dis. 2006 Aug 1; 194 (3): 316-24.

BackgroundWe investigated the lipid core peptide (LCP) system for mucosal vaccine delivery against infection with group A streptococcus (GAS)--the causative pathogen of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.MethodsAn LCP vaccine formulation containing 2 different peptide epitopes of the antiphagocytic M protein of GAS--a conformational epitope from the carboxyterminal conserved C-repeat region and an aminoterminal serotypic epitope--was intranasally administered to mice with cholera toxin B subunit or without additional adjuvant.ResultsOur data demonstrate that the LCP vaccine formulation induced the elicitation of antigen-specific systemic immunoglobulin G responses when administered with or without cholera toxin B subunit, whereas cholera toxin B subunit was required for the induction of antigen-specific mucosal immunoglobulin A responses. Immune serum samples from vaccinated mice were capable of opsonization of a homologous GAS strain, as well as opsonization of a heterologous GAS strain. Furthermore, mice were protected from GAS challenge following immunization with the LCP vaccine formulation, even in the absence of additional adjuvant.ConclusionsThese data support the potential of the LCP system in the development of a self-adjuvanting, synthetic, peptide-based mucosal GAS vaccine for the prevention of diseases caused by GAS.

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