Identification of secreted and cellular antigens of Staphylococcus aureus causing dairy sheep mastitis and their potential for vaccine development

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of clinical mastitis and is associated with persistent subclinical infections in ewes, significantly compromising the quality and quantity of milk productions. To date, vaccines intended for use in sheep have been mainly focused on biofilm production traits, but many S. aureus pathogenic isolates do not produce biofilm, including those circulating in Sardinia, one of the leading sheep milk producers in Europe. The aim of this work was to identify suitable immunodominant, alternative candidates to biofilm components for vaccine and diagnostic development. An immunoproteomics study was carried out by testing sera from naturally infected sheep with a prevalent S. aureus lineage against cellular and secreted antigens, followed by tandem mass spectrometry identification of the most prominent immunogens. Four cellular and three secreted S. aureus antigens elicited a strong humoral host immune response. The four cellular antigens were the housekeeping proteins pyruvate kinase, elongation Factor Tu, dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase, and alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase. The three secreted antigens were the bifunctional autolysin (Atl) and the two components of the Panton-Valentine leukocidin, lukF-PV/lukM, demonstrating the carriage of prophage phiPV83 in a sheep isolate and the strong response of the sheep host against them. In consideration of the key role played by these secreted proteins in S. aureus replication and immune evasion, these antigens may represent suitable candidates for developing vaccines eliciting a more successful immunological protection in areas where non-biofilm forming Staphylococcus spp. are the most widespread intramammary pathogens.