scholarly journals Immuno informatics Approach in Designing a Novel Vaccine Using Epitopes from All the Structural Proteins of SARS-CoV-2

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1845-1862
Author(s):  
Leana Rich M. Herrera
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Tertiary Structure ◽  
Cross Reactivity ◽  
Structural Proteins ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Population Coverage ◽  
Viral Attachment

The rapid transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted to the death of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. With the devastating effects on the economy and healthcare system of many countries, it is crucial to acceleratevaccine development against SARS-CoV-2. Thus, thisworkutilizedimmunoinformaticsto efficiently design a novel multi-epitope vaccine that can potentially induce immune response through the immunogenic, and abundantly expressed structural proteins in SARS-CoV-2. Epitopes were screened and evaluated using various immunoinformatics tools and databases. Antigenicity, allergenicity, and population coverage were assessed. Epitopes were adjoined to form a single vaccine construct (Covax),linked with 50S ribosomal protein as an adjuvant. Physicochemical properties, cross-reactivity, antigenicity,andallergenicityof Covax were evaluated. The tertiary structure of Covax was modeled, refined and validated for docking with toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). Binding affinity of Covax-TLR4 was estimated and compared with TLR4-adjuvant as control. Lastly,the immune response with Covax was simulated and compared withadjuvant alone. Total of 33 epitopes from S (21), E (3), M (5),and N (4)proteins were merged in Covax. These include epitopes on thereceptor-binding motif (RBM) of S protein known to beessential in the viral attachment. In silico evaluations classified Covax as stable, antigenic, and non-allergenic. Epitopes were estimated to have large worldwide population coverage, especially in areas with high infection rates, indicating broad potential efficacy of Covax as a vaccine for the most affected populations.Results in this work showed that Covax can bind to TLR4 whichindicates potential immunogenicity and superior properties necessary for a successful vaccine. Overall, this work efficiently minimized time, effort and cost in designing a candidate vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. In vitro and in vivo studies on Covax are anticipated.

scholarly journals Characterization of Weissella viridescens UCO-SMC3 as a Potential Probiotic for the Skin: Its Beneficial Role in the Pathogenesis of Acne Vulgaris

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1486
Author(s):  
Marcela Espinoza-Monje ◽  
Jorge Campos ◽  
Eduardo Alvarez Villamil ◽  
Alonso Jerez ◽  
Stefania Dentice Maidana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Oral Treatment ◽  
Acne Vulgaris ◽  
Topical Administration ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Mice Model ◽  
Cutibacterium Acnes ◽  
Snail Helix Aspersa

Previously, we isolated lactic acid bacteria from the slime of the garden snail Helix aspersa Müller and selected Weissella viridescens UCO-SMC3 because of its ability to inhibit in vitro the growth of the skin-associated pathogen Cutibacterium acnes. The present study aimed to characterize the antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties of W. viridescens UCO-SMC3 and to demonstrate its beneficial effect in the treatment of acne vulgaris. Our in vitro studies showed that the UCO-SMC3 strain resists adverse gastrointestinal conditions, inhibits the growth of clinical isolates of C. acnes, and reduces the adhesion of the pathogen to keratinocytes. Furthermore, in vivo studies in a mice model of C. acnes infection demonstrated that W. viridescens UCO-SMC3 beneficially modulates the immune response against the skin pathogen. Both the oral and topical administration of the UCO-SCM3 strain was capable of reducing the replication of C. acnes in skin lesions and beneficially modulating the inflammatory response. Of note, orally administered W. viridescens UCO-SMC3 induced more remarkable changes in the immune response to C. acnes than the topical treatment. However, the topical administration of W. viridescens UCO-SMC3 was more efficient than the oral treatment to reduce pathogen bacterial loads in the skin, and effects probably related to its ability to inhibit and antagonize the adhesion of C. acnes. Furthermore, a pilot study in acne volunteers demonstrated the capacity of a facial cream containing the UCO-SMC3 strain to reduce acne lesions. The results presented here encourage further mechanistic and clinical investigations to characterize W. viridescens UCO-SMC3 as a probiotic for acne vulgaris treatment.

scholarly journals Angiostatic activity of the antitumor cytokine interleukin-21

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (13) ◽  
pp. 4940-4947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolien Castermans ◽  
Sebastien P. Tabruyn ◽  
Rong Zeng ◽  
Judy R. van Beijnum ◽  
Cheryl Eppolito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Tumor Angiogenesis ◽  
Chorioallantoic Membrane ◽  
Antitumor Immune Response ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Type I ◽  
Stat3 Phosphorylation ◽  
Interleukin 21

Abstract Interleukin-21 (IL-21) is a recently described immunoregulatory cytokine. It has been identified as a very potent immunotherapeutic agent in several cancer types in animal models, and clinical studies are ongoing. IL-21 belongs to the type I cytokine family of which other members, ie, IL-2, IL-15, and IL-4, have been shown to exert activities on vascular endothelial cells (ECs). We hypothesized that IL-21, in addition to inducing the antitumor immune response, also inhibits tumor angiogenesis. In vitro experiments showed a decrease of proliferation and sprouting of activated ECs after IL-21 treatment. We found that the IL-21 receptor is expressed on vascular ECs. Furthermore, in vivo studies in the chorioallantoic membrane of the chick embryo and in mouse tumors demonstrated that IL-21 treatment disturbs vessel architecture and negatively affects vessel outgrowth. Our results also confirm the earlier suggested angiostatic potential of IL-2 in vitro and in vivo. The angiostatic effect of IL-21 is confirmed by the decrease in expression of angiogenesis-related genes. Interestingly, IL-21 treatment of ECs leads to a decrease of Stat3 phosphorylation. Our research shows that IL-21 is a very powerful antitumor compound that combines the induction of an effective antitumor immune response with inhibition of tumor angiogenesis.

scholarly journals Anti-Inflammatory Fibronectin-AgNP for Regulation of Biological Performance and Endothelial Differentiation Ability of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9262
Author(s):  
Huey-Shan Hung ◽  
Kai-Bo Chang ◽  
Cheng-Ming Tang ◽  
Tian-Ren Ku ◽  
Mei-Lang Kung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Silver Nanoparticles ◽  
Mesenchymal Stem Cells ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Vascular Regeneration ◽  
Anti Inflammatory

The engineering of vascular regeneration still involves barriers that need to be conquered. In the current study, a novel nanocomposite comprising of fibronectin (denoted as FN) and a small amount of silver nanoparticles (AgNP, ~15.1, ~30.2 or ~75.5 ppm) was developed and its biological function and biocompatibility in Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and rat models was investigated. The surface morphology as well as chemical composition for pure FN and the FN-AgNP nanocomposites incorporating various amounts of AgNP were firstly characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Among the nanocomposites, FN-AgNP with 30.2 ppm silver nanoparticles demonstrated the best biocompatibility as assessed through intracellular ROS production, proliferation of MSCs, and monocytes activation. The expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, were also examined. FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm significantly inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine expression compared to other materials, indicating superior performance of anti-immune response. Mechanistically, FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm significantly induced greater expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal-cell derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α) and promoted the migration of MSCs through matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) signaling pathway. Besides, in vitro and in vivo studies indicated that FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm stimulated greater protein expressions of CD31 and von Willebrand Factor (vWF) as well as facilitated better endothelialization capacity than other materials. Furthermore, the histological tissue examination revealed the lowest capsule formation and collagen deposition in rat subcutaneous implantation of FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm. In conclusion, FN-AgNP nanocomposites may facilitate the migration and proliferation of MSCs, induce endothelial cell differentiation, and attenuate immune response. These finding also suggests that FN-AgNP may be a potential anti-inflammatory surface modification strategy for vascular biomaterials.

scholarly journals Recruitment of Immune Effector Cells against Glioblastoma-Multiforme by a MHC-Chlorotoxin Chimeric Protein

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (S4) ◽  
pp. S1-S1
Author(s):  
O. Cohen-Inbar
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Glioblastoma Multiforme ◽  
Cytotoxic T Cells ◽  
Chimeric Protein ◽  
Human Leukocyte ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Single Chain

Glioblastoma Multiforme is the most common malignant primary brain tumor, having a mean overall survival <2 years. The lack of an efficient immune response against the tumor have been attributed to its immunosuppressive capabilities and an immunosuppressing local environment. Aim: We set out to design a chimeric molecule that recognizes and binds tissue inducible metalloproteinase known to be induced in GBM cells (MMP-2) on one end. Its other end, the effector domain, mobilizes and recruits cytotoxic T-cells to mount an effective anti-tumor reaction. Methods: The targeting moiety is the small 36-amino acids Chlorotoxin, derived from the venom of the Israeli Yellow scorpion. The effector end is a single chain HLA-A2 (Human leukocyte antigen subtype A2) covalently bound to phosphoprotein-65 derived from the cytomegalovirus, to which most of the human population has developed a specific immune response. Results: The molecular construct was cloned and expressed in E.coli. The protein product was isolated, purified, and then folded in vitro. Various activity assays employed demonstrated retained activity of each domain, including flow-cytometry, intracellular staining, fluorescence immunohistochemistry, radiolabeled toxicity assays etc. Initial in-vivo studies show great promise. Conclusions: We present a proof of concept study for a new immunotherapy approach to battle GBM. A molecular construct which contains a non-antibody compact and highly specific targeting domain, combined with the ability to recruit anti-CMV T-cell lymphocyte population. The recruitment of potent memory CTL’s to the tumor’s milieu may prove resistant to the previously described local immunosuppressive environment brought about by the tumor.

scholarly journals Alveolar macrophages up-regulate a non-classical innate response toMycobacterium tuberculosisinfectionin vivo

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Rothchild ◽  
G. S. Olson ◽  
J. Nemeth ◽  
L. M. Amon ◽  
D. Mai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Bacterial Growth ◽  
Alveolar Macrophages ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
Transcriptional Program ◽  
Innate Response ◽  
Transcription Factor Binding Motif ◽  
Knock Out

AbstractAlveolar macrophages (AMs) are the first cells to be infected duringMycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) infection. Thus the AM response to infection is the first of many steps leading to initiation of the adaptive immune response, which is required for efficient control of infection. A hallmark of Mtb infection is the delay of the adaptive response, yet the mechanisms responsible for this delay are largely unknown. We developed a system to identify, sort and analyze Mtb-infected AMs from the lung within the first 10 days of infection. In contrast to what has been previously described usingin vitrosystems, we find that Mtb-infected AMs up-regulate a cell-protective antioxidant transcriptional signature that is dependent on the lung environment and not dependent on bacterial virulence. Computational approaches including pathway analysis and transcription factor binding motif enrichment analysis identify Nrf2 as a master regulator of the response of AMs to Mtb infection. Using knock-out mouse models, we demonstrate that Nrf2 drives the expression of the cell protective transcriptional program and impairs the ability of the host to control bacterial growth over the first 10 days of infection. Mtb-infected AMs exhibit a highly delayed pro-inflammatory response, and comparisons with uninfected AMs from the same infected animals demonstrate that inflammatory signals in the lung environment are blocked in the Mtb-infected cells. Thus, we have identified a novel lung-specific transcriptional response to Mtb infection that impedes AMs from responding rapidly to intracellular infection and thereby hinders the overall immune response.One Sentence SummaryIn response to Mtb infectionin vivo, alveolar macrophages fail to up-regulate the canonical pro-inflammatory innate response and instead induce an Nrf2-dependent cell protective transcriptional program, which in turn impairs the host’s control of bacterial growth.

scholarly journals Development of a Conserved Chimeric Vaccine for Induction of Strong Immune Response against Staphylococcus aureus Using Immunoinformatics Approaches

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1038
Author(s):  
Rahul Chatterjee ◽  
Panchanan Sahoo ◽  
Soumya Ranjan Mahapatra ◽  
Jyotirmayee Dey ◽  
Mrinmoy Ghosh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staphylococcus Aureus ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Population Coverage ◽  
Strong Immune Response ◽  
Chimeric Vaccine

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most notorious Gram-positive bacteria with a very high mortality rate. The WHO has listed S. aureus as one of the ESKAPE pathogens requiring urgent research and development efforts to fight against it. Yet there is a major layback in the advancement of effective vaccines against this multidrug-resistant pathogen. SdrD and SdrE proteins are attractive immunogen candidates as they are conserved among all the strains and contribute specifically to bacterial adherence to the host cells. Furthermore, these proteins are predicted to be highly antigenic and essential for pathogen survival. Therefore, in this study, using the immunoinformatics approach, a novel vaccine candidate was constructed using highly immunogenic conserved T-cell and B-cell epitopes along with specific linkers, adjuvants, and consequently modeled for docking with human Toll-like receptor 2. Additionally, physicochemical properties, secondary structure, disulphide engineering, and population coverage analysis were also analyzed for the vaccine. The constructed vaccine showed good results of worldwide population coverage and a promising immune response. For evaluation of the stability of the vaccine-TLR-2 docked complex, a molecular dynamics simulation was performed. The constructed vaccine was subjected to in silico immune simulations by C-ImmSim and Immune simulation significantly provided high levels of immunoglobulins, T-helper cells, T-cytotoxic cells, and INF-γ. Lastly, upon cloning, the vaccine protein was reverse transcribed into a DNA sequence and cloned into a pET28a (+) vector to ensure translational potency and microbial expression. The overall results of the study showed that the designed novel chimeric vaccine can simultaneously elicit humoral and cell-mediated immune responses and is a reliable construct for subsequent in vivo and in vitro studies against the pathogen.

scholarly journals A Method for Individualizing the Prediction of Immunogenicity of Protein Vaccines and Biologic Therapeutics: Individualized T Cell Epitope Measure (iTEM)

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Cohen ◽  
Leonard Moise ◽  
Matthew Ardito ◽  
William Martin ◽  
Anne S. De Groot
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Cell Epitope ◽  
Protein Therapeutics ◽  
T Cell Response ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
T Cell Epitope ◽  
Hla Binding

The promise of pharmacogenomics depends on advancing predictive medicine. To address this need in the area of immunology, we developed the individualized T cell epitope measure (iTEM) tool to estimate an individual's T cell response to a protein antigen based on HLA binding predictions. In this study, we validated prospective iTEM predictions using data from in vitro and in vivo studies. We used a mathematical formula that convertsDRB1∗allele binding predictions generated by EpiMatrix, an epitope-mapping tool, into an allele-specific scoring system. We then demonstrated that iTEM can be used to define an HLA binding threshold above which immune response is likely and below which immune response is likely to be absent. iTEM's predictive power was strongest when the immune response is focused, such as in subunit vaccination and administration of protein therapeutics. iTEM may be a useful tool for clinical trial design and preclinical evaluation of vaccines and protein therapeutics.

scholarly journals Loss of tumor-specific and idiotype-specific immunity with age.

1981 ◽  
Vol 154 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
P M Flood ◽  
J L Urban ◽  
M L Kripke ◽  
H Schreiber
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Cross Reactivity ◽  
Primary Immune Response ◽  
Primary Resistance ◽  
Cell Clones ◽  
Tumor Target Cell

The ultraviolet light-induced fibrosarcoma 1591 undergoes "first-set rejection" when transplanted into normal syngeneic mice. We found, however, that the primary resistance of normal mice decreases with age, beginning at 9--12 mo, equivalent to middle age for mice. Mice lose with age the capacity to mount both idiotypic and anti-idiotypic responses responsible for controlling the growth of tumor. This loss was correlated with quantitative as well as qualitative changes in the response, such as changes in specificity and clonotype. Normal young mice regularly expressed a dominant common anti-1591 "idiotype" as defined by an anti-idiotypic probe. The capability of normal mice to respond with lymphocytes of this dominant common idiotype began to decline at about 8 mo of age. At this time, animals still generated tumor-specific lymphocytes, but these lymphocytes appear to be idiotypically different lymphocyte clones. With further increase in age, animals responded with tumor-reactive lymphocytes that showed a marked cross-reactivity to other tumor target cell lines. Both in vivo and in vitro, the capability of normal mice to mount an immune response that was specific for the 1591 tumor cells decreased between 9 and 14 mo, which was the age individual mice became increasingly susceptible to a challenge with 1591 tumor cells. Thus, our data suggest that clones of tumor-specific T cells provide primary and early protection of young animals against challenge with malignant 1591 cells. However, the dominance of these tumor-specific T cell clones in a primary immune response is lost in middle-age. Because the ability of animals to mount anti-idiotypic immune response also declined in middle-aged animals, it is possible that the observed loss of clonal dominance of tumor-specific clones with increasing age is at least partially related to age-dependent changes in the anti-idiotypic compartment.

scholarly journals In Vitro and In Vivo Studies for Assessing the Immune Response and Protection-Inducing Ability Conferred by Fasciola hepatica-Derived Synthetic Peptides Containing B- and T-Cell Epitopes

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. e105323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Rojas-Caraballo ◽  
Julio López-Abán ◽  
Luis Pérez del Villar ◽  
Carolina Vizcaíno ◽  
Belén Vicente ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
T Cell ◽  
Synthetic Peptides ◽  
Fasciola Hepatica ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
T Cell Epitopes

scholarly journals A Class III PDZ Binding Motif in the Myotilin and FATZ Families Binds Enigma Family Proteins: a Common Link for Z-Disc Myopathies

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 822-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pernilla von Nandelstadh ◽  
Mohamed Ismail ◽  
Chiara Gardin ◽  
Heli Suila ◽  
Ivano Zara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Members ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Binding Motif ◽  
High Homology ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Pdz Domains ◽  
Muscle Disorders ◽  
C Terminus

ABSTRACT Interactions between Z-disc proteins regulate muscle functions and disruption of these interactions results in muscle disorders. Mutations in Z-disc components myotilin, ZASP/Cypher, and FATZ-2 (calsarcin-1/myozenin-2) are associated with myopathies. We report here that the myotilin and the FATZ (calsarcin/myozenin) families share high homology at their final C-terminal five amino acids. This C-terminal E[ST][DE][DE]L motif is present almost exclusively in these families and is evolutionary conserved. We show by in vitro and in vivo studies that proteins from the myotilin and FATZ (calsarcin/myozenin) families interact via this novel type of class III PDZ binding motif with the PDZ domains of ZASP/Cypher and other Enigma family members: ALP, CLP-36, and RIL. We show that the interactions can be modulated by phosphorylation. Calmodulin-dependent kinase II phosphorylates the C terminus of FATZ-3 (calsarcin-3/myozenin-3) and myotilin, whereas PKA phosphorylates that of FATZ-1 (calsarcin-2/myozenin-1) and FATZ-2 (calsarcin-1/myozenin-1). This is the first report of a binding motif common to both the myotilin and the FATZ (calsarcin/myozenin) families that is specific for interactions with Enigma family members.

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