Abstract
Attempts over the past seventy years to produce an effective vaccine to protect humans against group A streptococcal infections and their immunologically mediated sequelae (acute rheumatic fever and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis) have been frustrated by two basic problems, first, the ability of the highly protective cell-surface M proteins to elicit potentially harmful host reactions and second, the existence of a large number of distinct serovars of M proteins and the fact that human immunity to group A streptococcal infections is predominantly M serovar-specific. In recent years, progress towards overcoming these problems has been greatly facilitated by an increased understanding of the structural and immunological properties of protective group A streptococcal antigens, which has emerged from molecular biology studies. This article reviews these studies and discusses the potential for developing an effective group A streptococcal vaccine.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
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Antibodies, Bacterial / immunology
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Antigens, Bacterial / genetics
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Antigens, Bacterial / immunology*
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B-Lymphocytes / immunology
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Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins*
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Bacterial Proteins / genetics
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Bacterial Proteins / immunology*
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Bacterial Vaccines / immunology*
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Carrier Proteins*
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Drug Resistance
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Epitopes / genetics
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Epitopes / immunology
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Humans
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Mice
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Opsonin Proteins / immunology
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Phagocytosis
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Primates / immunology
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Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
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Streptococcal Infections / epidemiology
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Streptococcal Infections / prevention & control*
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Streptococcus pyogenes / drug effects
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Streptococcus pyogenes / genetics
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Streptococcus pyogenes / immunology*
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Streptococcus pyogenes / pathogenicity
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T-Lymphocytes / immunology
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Virulence
Substances
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Anti-Bacterial Agents
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Antibodies, Bacterial
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Antigens, Bacterial
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Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins
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Bacterial Proteins
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Bacterial Vaccines
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Carrier Proteins
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Epitopes
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Opsonin Proteins
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streptococcal M protein