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Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2022Knowledge in the fields of biochemistry, structural biology, immunological principles, microbiology, and genomics has all increased dramatically in recent years. There...
Knowledge in the fields of biochemistry, structural biology, immunological principles, microbiology, and genomics has all increased dramatically in recent years. There has also been tremendous growth in the fields of data science, informatics, and artificial intelligence needed to handle this immense data flow. At the intersection of wet lab and data science is the field of bioinformatics, which seeks to apply computational tools to better understanding of the biological sciences. Like so many other areas of biology, bioinformatics has transformed immunology research leading to the discipline of immunoinformatics. Within this field, many new databases and computational tools have been created that increasingly drive immunology research, in many cases drawing upon artificial intelligence and machine learning to predict complex immune system behaviors, for example, prediction of B cell and T cell epitopes. In this book chapter, we provide an overview of computational tools and artificial intelligence being used for protein modeling, drug screening, vaccine design, and highlight how these tools are being used to transform approaches to pandemic countermeasure development, by reference to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Topics: Artificial Intelligence; COVID-19; Drug Design; Humans; Pandemics; Vaccine Development
PubMed: 34914045
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1884-4_6 -
Pediatric Clinics of North America Jun 2024This article considers ethical considerations surrounding pediatric vaccine development for pandemic preparedness, examines some historical cases of pediatric vaccines... (Review)
Review
This article considers ethical considerations surrounding pediatric vaccine development for pandemic preparedness, examines some historical cases of pediatric vaccines developed during past smallpox, influenza, and 2019 coronavirus disease pandemics, and discusses the current state of vaccine development for pandemic preparedness, including vaccines against smallpox/mpox, influenza, anthrax, and Ebola that are included in the US Strategic National Stockpile and vaccines being developed against priority pathogens identified by the World Health Organization.
Topics: Humans; Vaccine Development; Child; Pandemics; COVID-19; Vaccines; United States
PubMed: 38754940
DOI: 10.1016/j.pcl.2024.01.018 -
Viruses Nov 2022
Topics: Humans; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; HIV Infections; Vaccine Development
PubMed: 36560600
DOI: 10.3390/v14122598 -
ACS Nano Oct 2020Despite the vital role of vaccines in fighting viral pathogens, effective vaccines are still unavailable for many infectious diseases. The importance of vaccines cannot... (Review)
Review
Despite the vital role of vaccines in fighting viral pathogens, effective vaccines are still unavailable for many infectious diseases. The importance of vaccines cannot be overstated during the outbreak of a pandemic, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The understanding of genomics, structural biology, and innate/adaptive immunity have expanded the toolkits available for current vaccine development. However, sudden outbreaks and the requirement of population-level immunization still pose great challenges in today's vaccine designs. Well-established vaccine development protocols from previous experiences are in place to guide the pipelines of vaccine development for emerging viral diseases. Nevertheless, vaccine development may follow different paradigms during a pandemic. For example, multiple vaccine candidates must be pushed into clinical trials simultaneously, and manufacturing capability must be scaled up in early stages. Factors from essential features of safety, efficacy, manufacturing, and distributions to administration approaches are taken into consideration based on advances in materials science and engineering technologies. In this review, we present recent advances in vaccine development by focusing on vaccine discovery, formulation, and delivery devices enabled by alternative administration approaches. We hope to shed light on developing better solutions for faster and better vaccine development strategies through the use of biomaterials, biomolecular engineering, nanotechnology, and microfabrication techniques.
Topics: COVID-19 Vaccines; Clinical Trials as Topic; Coronavirus Infections; Humans; Immunogenicity, Vaccine; Vaccine Potency; Vaccines, Subunit; Vaccines, Synthetic; Viral Vaccines
PubMed: 33001626
DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c06109 -
The Lancet. Infectious Diseases Dec 2022This Escherichia coli-produced bivalent HPV 16 and 18 vaccine was well tolerated and effective against HPV 16 and 18 associated high-grade genital lesions and persistent... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of an Escherichia coli-produced Human Papillomavirus (16 and 18) L1 virus-like-particle vaccine: end-of-study analysis of a phase 3, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
This Escherichia coli-produced bivalent HPV 16 and 18 vaccine was well tolerated and effective against HPV 16 and 18 associated high-grade genital lesions and persistent infection in interim analysis of this phase 3 trial. We now report data on long-term efficacy and safety after 66 months of follow-up.
METHODS
This phase 3, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial was done in five study sites in China. Eligible participants were women aged 18-45 years, with intact cervix and 1-4 lifetime sexual partners. Women who were pregnant or breastfeeding, had chronic disease or immunodeficiency, or had HPV vaccination history were excluded. Women were stratified by age (18-26 and 27-45 years) and randomly (1:1) allocated by software (block randomisation with 12 codes to a block) to receive three doses of the E coli-produced HPV 16 and 18 vaccine or hepatitis E vaccine (control) and followed-up for 66 months. The primary outcomes were high-grade genital lesions and persistent infection (longer than 6 months) associated with HPV 16 or 18 in the per-protocol susceptible population. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01735006.
FINDINGS
Between Nov 22, 2012, and April 1, 2013, 8827 women were assessed for eligibility. 1455 women were excluded, and 7372 women were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive the HPV vaccine (n=3689) or control (n=3683). Vaccine efficacy was 100·0% (95% CI 67·2-100·0) against high-grade genital lesions (0 [0%] of 3310 participants in the vaccine group and 13 [0·4%] of 3302 participants in the control group) and 97·3% (89·9-99·7) against persistent infection (2 [0·1%] of 3262 participants in the vaccine group and 73 [2·2%] of 3271 participants in the control group) in the per-protocol population. Serious adverse events occurred at a similar rate between vaccine (267 [7·2%] of 3691 participants) and control groups (290 [7·9%] of 3681); none were considered related to vaccination.
INTERPRETATION
The E coli-produced HPV 16 and 18 vaccine was well tolerated and highly efficacious against HPV 16 and 18 associated high-grade genital lesions and persistent infection and would supplement the global HPV vaccine availability and accessibility for cervical cancer prevention.
FUNDING
National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key R&D Program of China, Fujian Provincial Project, Fundamental Funds for the Central Universities, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences, and Xiamen Innovax.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Papillomavirus Infections; Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle; Escherichia coli; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Human papillomavirus 16; Papillomavirus Vaccines; Double-Blind Method; Immunogenicity, Vaccine
PubMed: 36037823
DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00435-2 -
Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics Nov 2021Malaria vaccines hold significant promise for life-saving benefit, especially to children who bear the major burden of malaria mortality. The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine...
Malaria vaccines hold significant promise for life-saving benefit, especially to children who bear the major burden of malaria mortality. The RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine provides moderate efficacy and is being tested in implementation studies. In parallel, multiple strategies are being advanced to test next-generation malaria vaccines, including novel approaches that build on principles learned from RTS,S development, vaccination with radiation-attenuated sporozoites, and development of monoclonal antibodies targeting immunogenic peptides. Novel vaccine delivery approaches are also being advanced, including self-amplifying RNA vaccine delivery, self-assembling protein nanoparticle methods, circumsporozoite protein-based approaches, and whole organism vaccination. Techniques employed for COVID-19 vaccine development should also be considered for malaria vaccination, including sustained release polymer nanoparticle hydrogel vaccination and charge-altering releasable transporters. As vaccine science advances and new approaches optimize knowledge gained, highly effective malaria vaccines that provide sustained protection are within reach.
Topics: COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Child; Humans; Malaria Vaccines; Malaria, Falciparum; Plasmodium falciparum; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination; Vaccine Development; Vaccines, Synthetic; mRNA Vaccines
PubMed: 34347570
DOI: 10.1080/21645515.2021.1947762 -
Vaccine Mar 2024
Topics: Animals; Humans; Influenza Vaccines; Influenza in Birds; Vaccine Development
PubMed: 38296704
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.01.059 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2023Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has not only shaped awareness of the impact of infectious diseases on global health. It has also provided instructive lessons for better... (Review)
Review
Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has not only shaped awareness of the impact of infectious diseases on global health. It has also provided instructive lessons for better prevention strategies against new and current infectious diseases of major importance. Tuberculosis (TB) is a major current health threat caused by (Mtb) which has claimed more lives than any other pathogen over the last few centuries. Hence, better intervention measures, notably novel vaccines, are urgently needed to accomplish the goal of the World Health Organization to end TB by 2030. This article describes how the research and development of TB vaccines can benefit from recent developments in the Covid-19 vaccine pipeline from research to clinical development and outlines how the field of TB research can pursue its own approaches. It begins with a brief discussion of major vaccine platforms in general terms followed by a short description of the most widely applied Covid-19 vaccines. Next, different vaccination regimes and particular hurdles for TB vaccine research and development are described. This specifically considers the complex immune mechanisms underlying protection and pathology in TB which involve innate as well as acquired immune mechanisms and strongly depend on fine tuning the response. A brief description of the TB vaccine candidates that have entered clinical trials follows. Finally, it discusses how experiences from Covid-19 vaccine research, development, and rollout can and have been applied to the TB vaccine pipeline, emphasizing similarities and dissimilarities.
Topics: Humans; COVID-19 Vaccines; COVID-19; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis Vaccines; Communicable Diseases; Vaccine Development
PubMed: 38035095
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1273938 -
ACS Applied Bio Materials Mar 2022This review discusses peptide epitopes used as antigens in the development of vaccines in clinical trials as well as future vaccine candidates. It covers peptides used... (Review)
Review
This review discusses peptide epitopes used as antigens in the development of vaccines in clinical trials as well as future vaccine candidates. It covers peptides used in potential immunotherapies for infectious diseases including SARS-CoV-2, influenza, hepatitis B and C, HIV, malaria, and others. In addition, peptides for cancer vaccines that target examples of overexpressed proteins are summarized, including human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2), mucin 1 (MUC1), folate receptor, and others. The uses of peptides to target cancers caused by infective agents, for example, cervical cancer caused by human papilloma virus (HPV), are also discussed. This review also provides an overview of model peptide epitopes used to stimulate non-specific immune responses, and of self-adjuvanting peptides, as well as the influence of other adjuvants on peptide formulations. As highlighted in this review, several peptide immunotherapies are in advanced clinical trials as vaccines, and there is great potential for future therapies due the specificity of the response that can be achieved using peptide epitopes.
Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animals; Antigens; Cancer Vaccines; Communicable Disease Control; Humans; Neoplasms; Peptides; Vaccine Development; Vaccines, Subunit
PubMed: 35195008
DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.1c01238 -
Biomedical Materials (Bristol, England) Aug 2023The recent advancements in messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine development have vastly enhanced their use as alternatives to conventional vaccines in the... (Review)
Review
The recent advancements in messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine development have vastly enhanced their use as alternatives to conventional vaccines in the prevention of various infectious diseases and treatment of several types of cancers. This is mainly due to their remarkable ability to stimulate specific immune responses with minimal clinical side effects. This review gives a detailed overview of mRNA vaccines currently in use or at various stages of development, the recent advancements in mRNA vaccine development, and the challenges encountered in their development. Future perspectives on this technology are also discussed.
Topics: RNA, Messenger; Vaccine Development
PubMed: 37589309
DOI: 10.1088/1748-605X/aceceb