A path forward for Staphylococcus aureus vaccine development

Abstract

The pursuit of a vaccine to quell Staphylococcus aureus disease has been unfruitful. In this Viewpoint, we explore the biological linkage between microbial niche acquisition and host immunity as a basis to guide future vaccine efforts.

Figure 1.

Conceptual framework for use of an immunoscore to inform S. aureus vaccine development. Humans exhibit heterogeneity of the host immune response to S. aureus. Positioning the field to develop and implement a functional assessment of the protective immune response (displayed as quantifiable traits A–E) will enable risk stratification of the population that has been exposed to S. aureus. The application of this PISA can be utilized to guide targeted vaccine-based interventions. Illustration created with https://BioRender.com.