A human monoclonal antibody that specifically binds and inhibits the staphylococcal complement inhibitor protein SCIN.

Staphylococcus aureus is a serious public health burden causing a wide variety of infections. Earlier detection of such infections could result in faster and more directed therapies that also prevent resistance development. Human monoclonal antibodies (humAbs) are promising tools for diagnosis and therapy owing to their relatively straightforward synthesis, long history of safe clinical use and high target specificity. Here we show that the humAb 6D4, which was obtained from a random screen of B-cells producing antibodies that bind to whole cells of S. aureus, targets the staphylococcal complement inhibitor (SCIN). The epitope recognized by 6D4 was localized to residues 26 to 36 in the N-terminus of SCIN, which overlap with the active site. Accordingly, 6D4 can inhibit SCIN activity as demonstrated through the analysis of C3b deposition on S. aureus cells and complement-induced lysis of rabbit erythrocytes. Importantly, while SCIN is generally regarded as a secreted virulence factor, 6D4 allowed detection of strongly increased SCIN binding to S. aureus cells upon exposure to human serum, relating to the known binding of SCIN to C3 convertases deposited on the staphylococcal cell surface. Lastly, we show that labeling of humAb 6D4 with a near-infrared fluorophore allows one-step detection of SCIN-producing S. aureus cells. Together, our findings show that the newly described humAb 6D4 specifically recognizes S. aureus SCIN, which can potentially be used for detection of human serum-incubated S. aureus strains expressing SCIN.

Treatment Regimen, Surgical Outcome, and T-cell Differentiation Influence Prognostic Benefit of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer.

PURPOSE: Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are associated with a better prognosis in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC). However, it is largely unknown how this prognostic benefit of TIL relates to current standard treatment of surgical resection and (neo-)adjuvant chemotherapy. To address this outstanding issue, we compared TIL infiltration in a unique cohort of patients with advanced-stage HGSC primarily treated with either surgery or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Tissue microarray slides containing samples of 171 patients were analyzed for CD8(+) TIL by IHC. Freshly isolated CD8(+) TIL subsets were characterized by flow cytometry based on differentiation, activation, and exhaustion markers. Relevant T-cell subsets (CD27(+)) were validated using IHC and immunofluorescence. RESULTS: A prognostic benefit for patients with high intratumoral CD8(+) TIL was observed if primary surgery had resulted in a complete cytoreduction (no residual tissue). By contrast, optimal (<1 cm of residual tumor) or incomplete cytoreduction fully abrogated the prognostic effect of CD8(+) TIL. Subsequent analysis of primary TIL by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence identified CD27 as a key marker for a less-differentiated, yet antigen-experienced and potentially tumor-reactive CD8(+) TIL subset. In line with this, CD27(+) TIL were associated with an improved prognosis even in incompletely cytoreduced patients. Neither CD8(+) nor CD27(+) cell infiltration was of prognostic benefit in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that treatment regimen, surgical result, and the differentiation of TIL should all be taken into account when studying immune factors in HGSC or, by extension, selecting patients for immunotherapy trials.

A human monoclonal antibody targeting the conserved staphylococcal antigen IsaA protects mice against Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Due to substantial therapy failure and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains, alternatives for antibiotic treatment of S. aureus infections are urgently needed. Passive immunization using S. aureus-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAb) could be such an alternative to prevent and treat severe S. aureus infections. The invariantly expressed immunodominant staphylococcal antigen A (IsaA) is a promising target for passive immunization. Here we report the development of the human anti-IsaA IgG1 mAb 1D9, which was shown to bind to all 26 S. aureus isolates tested. These included both methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MSSA and MRSA, respectively). Immune complexes consisting of IsaA and 1D9 stimulated human as well as murine neutrophils to generate an oxidative burst. In a murine bacteremia model, the prophylactic treatment with a single dose of 5 mg/kg 1D9 improved the survival of mice challenged with S. aureus isolate P (MSSA) significantly, while therapeutic treatment with the same dose did not influence animal survival. Neither prophylactic nor therapeutic treatment with 5 mg/kg 1D9 resulted in improved survival of mice with S. aureus USA300 (MRSA) bacteremia. Importantly, our studies show that healthy S. aureus carriers elicit an immune response which is sufficient to generate protective mAbs against invariant staphylococcal surface antigens. Human mAb 1D9, possibly conjugated to for example another antibody, antibiotics, cytokines or chemokines, may be valuable to fight S. aureus infections in patients.