Exploring the Polyclonal Antibody Responses Induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae Derived Outer-Membrane Vesicles
type: CreativeWork
description: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health concern; six key pathogens have been highlighted for causing a disproportionate number of AMR-related deaths globally. These “ESKAPE” pathogens are Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp. Of these, Klebsiella pneumoniae stands out due to its vast genomic diversity with only a small percentage of the genome being dedicated to the core genes, while the remainder is drawn from a diverse pan-genome. K. pneumoniae can cause a wide range of pathologies including pneumonia, sepsis, urinary tract infections, and others. A wide variety of virulence factors are used by K. pneumoniae including a thick outer capsule, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), siderophores, and key metabolism and adhesion genes. These virulence factors assist in resisting a wide range of immunological and environmental stressors (complement, phagocytosis, antimicrobials, etc.). Currently, two major phenotypes of concern are emerging: multi-drug resistance and hypervirulence, which make K. pneumoniae a key pathogen of concern for global health. No vaccine against K. pneumoniae has been licensed at time of writing, with various approaches being tested without success. Two aspects of K. pneumoniae remain understudied. Firstly, there exists a gap in the literature between research highlighting the genomic diversity of K. pneumoniae and research examining pathologies and novel therapeutics, which often rely on a small handful of isolates. Secondly, the role of antibodies in K. pneumoniae immunity is currently poorly understood. The aims of this thesis were to examine antibody binding patterns by producing five sets of polyclonal serum using outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) before characterising the resulting antibody response. Each set of polyclonal serum was then screened against a curated collection of K. pneumoniae isolates (the Warne collection) before examining …
abstract: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health concern; six key pathogens have been highlighted for causing a disproportionate number of AMR-related deaths globally. These “ESKAPE” pathogens are Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp. Of these, Klebsiella pneumoniae stands out due to its vast genomic diversity with only a small percentage of the genome being dedicated to the core genes, while the remainder is drawn from a diverse pan-genome. K. pneumoniae can cause a wide range of pathologies including pneumonia, sepsis, urinary tract infections, and others. A wide variety of virulence factors are used by K. pneumoniae including a thick outer capsule, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), siderophores, and key metabolism and adhesion genes. These virulence factors assist in resisting a wide range of immunological and environmental stressors (complement, phagocytosis, antimicrobials, etc.). Currently, two major phenotypes of concern are emerging: multi-drug resistance and hypervirulence, which make K. pneumoniae a key pathogen of concern for global health. No vaccine against K. pneumoniae has been licensed at time of writing, with various approaches being tested without success. Two aspects of K. pneumoniae remain understudied. Firstly, there exists a gap in the literature between research highlighting the genomic diversity of K. pneumoniae and research examining pathologies and novel therapeutics, which often rely on a small handful of isolates. Secondly, the role of antibodies in K. pneumoniae immunity is currently poorly understood. The aims of this thesis were to examine antibody binding patterns by producing five sets of polyclonal serum using outer-membrane vesicles (OMVs) before characterising the resulting antibody response. Each set of polyclonal serum was then screened against a curated collection of K. pneumoniae isolates (the Warne collection) before examining …
author: Gallagher, Peter
language: eng
keywords: Klebsiella, Antibodies, High Throughput Screening, Outer Membrane Vesicles, Vaccines, AMR
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/83949c2e-b1c1-426a-9d2d-217db78987e6/download
license: http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved
date published: 2024-02-27
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:06Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.117120