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International Journal of Molecular... Sep 2020Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based drugs, notably mRNA vaccines, have been widely proven as a promising treatment strategy in immune therapeutics. The extraordinary... (Review)
Review
Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based drugs, notably mRNA vaccines, have been widely proven as a promising treatment strategy in immune therapeutics. The extraordinary advantages associated with mRNA vaccines, including their high efficacy, a relatively low severity of side effects, and low attainment costs, have enabled them to become prevalent in pre-clinical and clinical trials against various infectious diseases and cancers. Recent technological advancements have alleviated some issues that hinder mRNA vaccine development, such as low efficiency that exist in both gene translation and in vivo deliveries. mRNA immunogenicity can also be greatly adjusted as a result of upgraded technologies. In this review, we have summarized details regarding the optimization of mRNA vaccines, and the underlying biological mechanisms of this form of vaccines. Applications of mRNA vaccines in some infectious diseases and cancers are introduced. It also includes our prospections for mRNA vaccine applications in diseases caused by bacterial pathogens, such as tuberculosis. At the same time, some suggestions for future mRNA vaccine development about storage methods, safety concerns, and personalized vaccine synthesis can be found in the context.
Topics: Drug Delivery Systems; Immunogenicity, Vaccine; RNA, Messenger; Vaccines, Synthetic; mRNA Vaccines
PubMed: 32916818
DOI: 10.3390/ijms21186582 -
Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton,... 2023Vaccines are the most successful and cost-effective medical interventions available to fight infectious diseases. They consist of biological preparations that are... (Review)
Review
Vaccines are the most successful and cost-effective medical interventions available to fight infectious diseases. They consist of biological preparations that are capable of stimulating the immune system to confer protective immunity against a particular harmful pathogen/agent. Vaccine design and development have evolved through the years. Early vaccines were obtained with little implementation of technology and in the absence of fundamental knowledge, representing a pure feat of human ingenuity. In contrast, modern vaccine development takes advantage of advances in technology and in our enhanced understanding of the immune system and host-pathogen interactions. Moreover, vaccine design has found novel applications beyond the prophylactic arena and there is an increasing interest in designing vaccines to treat human ailments like cancer and chronic inflammatory diseases. In this chapter, we focus on prophylactic vaccines against infectious diseases, providing an overview on immunology principles underlying immunization and on how vaccines work and are designed.
Topics: Humans; Adjuvants, Immunologic; Vaccination; Vaccine Development; Vaccines
PubMed: 37258903
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3239-0_1 -
Emerging Microbes & Infections Dec 2022African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal and highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, listed as a notifiable disease reported to the World Organization... (Review)
Review
African swine fever (ASF) is a lethal and highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, listed as a notifiable disease reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Despite its limited host range and absent zoonotic potential, the socio-economic and environmental impact of ASF is very high, representing a serious threat to the global swine industry and the many stakeholders involved. Currently, only control and eradication measures based mainly on early detection and strict stamping-out policies are available, however, the rapid spread of the disease in new countries, and in new regions in countries already affected, show these strategies to be lacking. In this review, we discuss approaches to ASF vaccinology, with emphasis on the advances made over the last decade, including the development of virulence-associated gene deleted strains such as the very promising ASFV-G-ΔI177L/ΔLVR, that replicates efficiently in a stable porcine epithelial cell line, and the cross-protecting BA71ΔCD2 capable of stably growing in the commercial COS-1 cell line, or the naturally attenuated Lv17/WB/Rie1 which shows solid protection in wild boar. We also consider the key constraints involved in the scale-up and commercialization of promising live attenuated and virus-vectored vaccine candidates, namely cross-protection, safety, lack of suitable animal models, compatibility with wildlife immunization, availability of established and licensed cell lines, and differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA) strategy.
Topics: African Swine Fever; African Swine Fever Virus; Animals; Immunization; Swine; Vaccine Development; Viral Vaccines; Virulence
PubMed: 35912875
DOI: 10.1080/22221751.2022.2108342 -
Viruses May 2023Virus-like particles (VLPs) have gained a lot of interest within the past two decades. The use of VLP-based vaccines to protect against three infectious agents-hepatitis... (Review)
Review
Virus-like particles (VLPs) have gained a lot of interest within the past two decades. The use of VLP-based vaccines to protect against three infectious agents-hepatitis B virus, human papillomavirus, and hepatitis E virus-has been approved; they are very efficacious and offer long-lasting immune responses. Besides these, VLPs from other viral infectious agents (that infect humans, animals, plants, and bacteria) are under development. These VLPs, especially those from human and animal viruses, serve as stand-alone vaccines to protect against viruses from which the VLPs were derived. Additionally, VLPs, including those derived from plant and bacterial viruses, serve as platforms upon which to display foreign peptide antigens from other infectious agents or metabolic diseases such as cancer, i.e., they can be used to develop chimeric VLPs. The goal of chimeric VLPs is to enhance the immunogenicity of foreign peptides displayed on VLPs and not necessarily the platforms. This review provides a summary of VLP vaccines for human and veterinary use that have been approved and those that are under development. Furthermore, this review summarizes chimeric VLP vaccines that have been developed and tested in pre-clinical studies. Finally, the review concludes with a snapshot of the advantages of VLP-based vaccines such as hybrid/mosaic VLPs over conventional vaccine approaches such as live-attenuated and inactivated vaccines.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle; Viruses; Hepatitis B virus; Vaccine Development
PubMed: 37243195
DOI: 10.3390/v15051109 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Nov 2021Approximately 100-400 million people from more than 100 countries in the tropical and subtropical world are affected by dengue infections. Recent scientific... (Review)
Review
Approximately 100-400 million people from more than 100 countries in the tropical and subtropical world are affected by dengue infections. Recent scientific breakthroughs have brought new insights into novel strategies for the production of dengue antivirals and vaccines. The search for specific dengue inhibitors is expanding, and the mechanisms for evaluating the efficacy of novel drugs are currently established, allowing for expedited translation into human trials. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the only FDA-approved vaccine, Dengvaxia, a safer and more effective dengue vaccine candidate is making its way through the clinical trials. Until an effective antiviral therapy and licensed vaccine are available, disease monitoring and vector population control will be the mainstays of dengue prevention. In this article, we highlighted recent advances made in the perspectives of efforts made recently, in dengue vaccine development and dengue antiviral drug.
Topics: Antiviral Agents; Dengue; Dengue Vaccines; Dengue Virus; Drug Development; Humans; Vaccine Development
PubMed: 34833860
DOI: 10.3390/molecules26226768 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2021is one of the most important human pathogens worldwide. Its high antibiotic resistance profile reinforces the need for new interventions like vaccines in addition to... (Review)
Review
is one of the most important human pathogens worldwide. Its high antibiotic resistance profile reinforces the need for new interventions like vaccines in addition to new antibiotics. Vaccine development efforts against have failed so far however, the findings from these human clinical and non-clinical studies provide potential insight for such failures. Currently, research is focusing on identifying novel vaccine formulations able to elicit potent humoral and cellular immune responses. Translational science studies are attempting to discover correlates of protection using animal models as well as and models assessing efficacy of vaccine candidates. Several new vaccine candidates are being tested in human clinical trials in a variety of target populations. In addition to vaccines, bacteriophages, monoclonal antibodies, centyrins and new classes of antibiotics are being developed. Some of these have been tested in humans with encouraging results. The complexity of the diseases and the range of the target populations affected by this pathogen will require a multipronged approach using different interventions, which will be discussed in this review.
Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animals; Antigens, Bacterial; Clinical Trials as Topic; Extracellular Vesicles; Glycoconjugates; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Immunity, Cellular; Immunity, Humoral; Immunogenicity, Vaccine; In Vitro Techniques; Mice; Models, Animal; Nucleic Acid-Based Vaccines; Periplasm; Recombinant Proteins; Staphylococcal Infections; Staphylococcal Vaccines; Staphylococcus aureus; Translational Science, Biomedical; Vaccine Development; Vaccines, Attenuated; Vaccines, Synthetic
PubMed: 34305945
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.705360 -
Current Opinion in Biotechnology Feb 2022mRNA Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have recently been propelled onto the center stage of therapeutic platforms due to the success of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA LNP vaccines... (Review)
Review
mRNA Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have recently been propelled onto the center stage of therapeutic platforms due to the success of the SARS-CoV-2 mRNA LNP vaccines (mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2), with billions of mRNA vaccine doses already shipped worldwide. While mRNA vaccines seem like an overnight success to some, they are in fact a result of decades of scientific research. The advantage of mRNA-LNP vaccines lies in the modularity of the platform and the rapid manufacturing capabilities. However, there is a multitude of choices to be made when designing an optimal mRNA-LNP vaccine regarding efficacy, stability and toxicity. Herein, we provide a brief on what we consider to be the most important aspects to cover when designing mRNA-LNPs from what is currently known and how to optimize them. Lastly, we give our perspective on which of these aspects is most crucial and what we believe are the next steps required to advance the field.
Topics: BNT162 Vaccine; COVID-19; Humans; Liposomes; Nanoparticles; Vaccine Development; Vaccines, Synthetic; mRNA Vaccines
PubMed: 34715546
DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.09.016 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2021Influenza A virus is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens that can cause severe symptoms and has the potential to cause high number of deaths and great economic... (Review)
Review
Influenza A virus is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens that can cause severe symptoms and has the potential to cause high number of deaths and great economic loss. Vaccination is still the best option to prevent influenza virus infection. Different types of influenza vaccines, including live attenuated virus vaccines, inactivated whole virus vaccines, virosome vaccines, split-virion vaccines and subunit vaccines have been developed. However, they have several limitations, such as the relatively high manufacturing cost and long production time, moderate efficacy of some of the vaccines in certain populations, and lack of cross-reactivity. These are some of the problems that need to be solved. Here, we summarized recent advances in the development and application of different types of influenza vaccines, including the recent development of viral vectored influenza vaccines. We also described the construction of other vaccines that are based on recombinant influenza viruses as viral vectors. Information provided in this review article might lead to the development of safe and highly effective novel influenza vaccines.
Topics: Animals; Chickens; Forecasting; Genetic Vectors; Humans; Influenza A virus; Influenza Vaccines; Influenza in Birds; Influenza, Human; Poultry Diseases; Seasons; Vaccine Development; Vaccines, Attenuated; Vaccines, Inactivated; Vaccines, Subunit; Vaccines, Synthetic; Vaccines, Virosome; Virion
PubMed: 34326849
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.711997 -
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