Key target found for new pneumonia vaccine

A protein may hold the key to a new vaccine that could effectively target pneumonia, according to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Jay K. Kolls, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Allergy and Immunology at Children's, identified the importance of a protein known as interleukin 22 (IL-22) in the immune response to a strain of bacterial pneumonia. In the laboratory, the researchers were able to effectively treat mice with pneumonia by using purified IL-22.

"Currently there is no vaccine that covers all kinds of pneumonia and antibiotic treatment is sometimes limited by antibiotic resistance. As acute respiratory infections are the no. 1 killer of children in the world, progress in the development of novel vaccines or new, more effective treatments is critical," says Dr. Kolls. "Our results raise the possibility of developing new protein-based therapies using IL-22 to limit or prevent pneumonia."

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