In the fight against mastitis, antibiotics are becoming an increasingly ineffective option. Vaccines seem to be the most logical alternatives, but none of the vaccines developed over the past decennia have proven to be effective replacements. This is because the bacteria create so-called ‘Evasion Molecules’. These tiny proteins appear to be able to neutralise or inhibit all of the steps in the immune system at the molecular level, making it literally impossible for the white blood cells to reach the bacteria. This also seriously hampers the development of effective vaccines. EVAC is searching for antibodies that can neutralise the Evasion Molecules produced by Staphylococcus aureus in order to make the existing mastitis vaccines more effective. So far, the researchers have found and detailed approximately 25 Evasion Molecules, and the remaining 25 are expected to follow in the near future. The project is studying which of the various Evasion Molecules is most effective at inhibiting the vaccines. It is possible that only a portion of the total number of molecules are responsible for inhibiting vaccines.
EVAC Project Leader: Prof. Jos A. G. van Strijp, Department of Medical Microbiology, UMC Utrecht.