Understanding and exploiting group A streptococcal anti-chemotactic proteases in vaccines for infection 

Group A streptococci – also known as strep A – cause more than half a million deaths annually by triggering rheumatic heart disease in children with repeated minor streptococcal infections and also by causing more lethal infections and sepsis. These deaths could be prevented if there was a vaccine that was effective for all types of strep A. Two enzymes made by strep A are known to fight the immune response by cutting immune system chemical messengers in two. We know that these enzymes can be used as vaccines against strep A, but do not understand their structure. Understanding how the enzymes work could help us design better drugs to fight unwanted inflammation. 

We will work out how these two enzymes interact with chemical messengers and find out how to adapt the enzymes’ structures to make the best possible vaccine against strep A.