Towards the Development of a Broadly Protective Group A Streptococcal Vaccine Based on the Lipid-Core Peptide System

Preclinical studies carried out over the last seven years by our group have focused on the development of a group A streptococcal (GAS) vaccine based on the antiphagocytic bacterial surface M protein using the Lipid-Core Peptide (LCP) system. This synthetic peptide vaccine delivery system has several advantages over other delivery systems including its self-adjuvanting properties and the ability to incorporate multiple peptide epitopes into a single vaccine. This review describes various vaccine delivery strategies including the LCP system, highlighting its functional properties and applications in vaccine research using data obtained from various LCP-based GAS vaccine candidates evaluated in murine models.