A Strep vaccine is on the horizon after the main antibody was found in the blood of a recovered patient

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A Strep A vaccine is on the horizon after scientists discovered an antibody important for fighting the bacteria in a recovered patient.

Until now, researchers have struggled to produce an effective hit against Strep A, with attempts failing to prevent the infection, which can be fatal for some people.

Scientists at Lund University in Sweden studied the blood of patients who had recovered from a serious infection to see if there was something wrong with their immune system. In one of them, they found a special antibody that could be key to creating a vaccine.

Antibodies look like a capital Y and usually latch on to invaders using just one arm, acting like a flag telling the rest of the immune system to take action. But the antibody in the recovered patient stuck around using both arms, which the scientists found was necessary to mount a strong immune response.

When only one arm was attached, Step A was able to mount effective countermeasures, preventing immune cells from clearing the infection.

“This opens up possibilities where previous vaccine attempts have failed, and means that the antibody we used has the potential to protect against infection,” said Dr. Wael Behnan, study author and immunologist at Lund University.

The team isolated the antibody and tested it on animals, finding that it can trigger a strong immune response against Strep A infection.

The researchers believe that previous vaccine attempts failed because they relied on the binding of one arm. They have now applied for a patent and hope to eventually create a vaccine.

“What we saw — and this is vital information — is that two Y arms can recognize two different places on the same target protein,” said Pontus Nordenfeldt, study author and associate professor at Lund.

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