Murugan Sowmya, Jacob Jobin John, Walia Kamini, Kwatra Gaurav
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Descriptive Research Division, Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.
Indian J Med Microbiol. 2025 Jul-Aug;56:100909. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmmb.2025.100909. Epub 2025 Jul 1.
Klebsiella pneumoniae is a significant opportunistic pathogen responsible for a range of infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. The emergence of multidrug-resistant strains poses a critical challenge to public health, necessitating the development of effective vaccines. Traditional vaccine strategies have been limited by the pathogen's genetic diversity and the presence of virulent serotypes.
This review aims to evaluate current advancements in vaccine development against K. pneumoniae, focusing on innovative approaches such as multiepitope subunit vaccines, reverse vaccinology, and the use of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) as key targets. We also discuss the importance of identifying conserved antigens to ensure broad protection across diverse strains.
The review covers several key areas of vaccine development, including conjugate vaccines, nanovaccines, and bioconjugate approaches, which have shown potential in eliciting immune responses. Conjugate vaccines, which couple polysaccharides with carrier proteins, have been explored to target capsular polysaccharides and lipopolysaccharides, two critical components of K. pneumoniae's virulence mechanisms. Nanotechnology-based vaccines offer innovative solutions by enhancing antigen stability and immune response. Additionally, reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics have been used to design multiepitope vaccines targeting conserved antigens. The review underscores the challenges in advancing these vaccines through clinical trials and emphasizes the need for ongoing research to develop effective, broad-spectrum vaccines to combat K. pneumoniae infections.
肺炎克雷伯菌是一种重要的机会致病菌，可导致一系列感染，尤其是在免疫功能低下的个体中。多重耐药菌株的出现对公共卫生构成了严峻挑战，因此有必要开发有效的疫苗。传统的疫苗策略受到病原体遗传多样性和有毒力血清型存在的限制。
本综述旨在评估针对肺炎克雷伯菌疫苗开发的当前进展，重点关注创新方法，如多表位亚单位疫苗、反向疫苗学以及将外膜蛋白（OMPs）作为关键靶点的应用。我们还讨论了识别保守抗原以确保对不同菌株具有广泛保护作用的重要性。
该综述涵盖了疫苗开发的几个关键领域，包括结合疫苗、纳米疫苗和生物偶联方法，这些方法在引发免疫反应方面已显示出潜力。结合疫苗将多糖与载体蛋白偶联，已被用于靶向荚膜多糖和脂多糖，这是肺炎克雷伯菌毒力机制的两个关键组成部分。基于纳米技术的疫苗通过提高抗原稳定性和免疫反应提供了创新解决方案。此外，反向疫苗学和免疫信息学已被用于设计针对保守抗原的多表位疫苗。该综述强调了在临床试验中推进这些疫苗所面临的挑战，并强调需要持续研究以开发有效的广谱疫苗来对抗肺炎克雷伯菌感染。
