scholarly journals Investigation of the antigenicity and protective efficacy of Leishmania promastigote membrane antigens in search of potential diagnostic and vaccine candidates against visceral leishmaniasis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarfaraz Ahmad Ejazi ◽  
Smriti Ghosh ◽  
Anirban Bhattacharyya ◽  
Mohd Kamran ◽  
Sonali Das ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundVisceral leishmaniasis (VL), a parasitic disease causes serious medical consequences if treatment is delayed. Despite a decline in the number of VL cases in the Indian Subcontinent, commencement of the disease in newer areas continues to be a major concern. Although serological diagnosis mainly by immunochromatographic tests has been found to be effective, test for cure in different phases of treatment is still desired. Even though good prophylactic response has been obtained in murine models by a number of vaccine candidates, few have been proposed for human use. MethodsIn this study, nine antigenic components (31, 34, 36, 45, 51, 63, 72, 91 and 97 kDa) of Leishmania promastigote membrane antigens, LAg, were electroeluted and evaluated through ELISA to diagnose and distinguish active VL from one month cured and six month past infection. Further, to investigate the immunogenicity of electroeluted proteins, humans PBMCs of cured VL patients were stimulated with 31, 34, 51, 63, 72, and 91 kDa proteins.ResultsWe found that 34 and 51 kDa fractions show 100% sensitivity and specificity with healthy controls and other diseases. After six months post treatment antibodies to 72 and 91 kDa antigens show a significant decline to almost normal levels. This suggests that 34 and 51 kDa are efficient in diagnosis whereas 72 and 91 kDa may be used to monitor treatment outcome. In another study, 51 and 63 kDa proteins demonstrated maximum ability for up-regulate IFN-g and IL-12 with minimum induction of IL-10 and TGF-β. The results indicating that 51 and 63 kDa proteins could be strong candidates for human immunization against VL. In contrast, 34 and 91 kDa demonstrated a reverse profile and may not be a good vaccine candidate. ConclusionsThe present study accounts our search for new biomarkers for tests of clinical cure as well as effective immunoprophylactic candidates for VL vaccination.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarfaraz Ahmad Ejazi ◽  
Smriti Ghosh ◽  
Anirban Bhattacharyya ◽  
Mohd Kamran ◽  
Sonali Das ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a parasitic disease causes serious medical consequences if treatment is delayed. Despite a decline in the number of VL cases in the Indian Subcontinent, the commencement of the disease in newer areas continues to be a major concern. Although serological diagnosis mainly by immunochromatographic tests has been found to be effective, test for cure in different phases of treatment is still desired. Even though a good prophylactic response has been obtained in murine models by a number of vaccine candidates, few have been proposed for human use. Methods: In this study, nine antigenic components (31, 34, 36, 45, 51, 63, 72, 91 and 97 kDa) of Leishmania promastigote membrane antigens, LAg, were electroeluted and evaluated through ELISA to diagnose and distinguish active VL from one month cured and six month past infection. Further, to investigate the immunogenicity of electroeluted proteins, human PBMCs of cured VL patients were stimulated with 31, 34, 51, 63, 72, and 91 kDa proteins. Results: We found that 34 and 51 kDa proteins show 100% sensitivity and specificity with healthy controls and other diseases. After six months post treatment, antibodies to 72 and 91 kDa antigens show a significant decline to almost normal levels. This suggests that 34 and 51 kDa are efficient in diagnosis whereas 72 and 91 kDa may be used to monitor treatment outcome. In another study, 51 and 63 kDa proteins demonstrated maximum ability for up-regulate IFN-g and IL-12 with minimum induction of IL-10 and TGF-β. The results indicating that 51 and 63 kDa proteins could be strong candidates for human immunization against VL. In contrast, 34 and 91 kDa demonstrated a reverse profile and may not be a good vaccine candidate. Conclusions: The preliminary data obtained in this study proposes the potential of some of the antigens in Leishmania diagnosis and for test of cure. Additionally, some antigens demonstrated good immunoprophylactic cytokine production through T cell mediated immune response suggesting future vaccine candidates for VL. However, further studies are necessary to explore these antigens in diagnosis and to access long-term immune response.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarfaraz Ahmad Ejazi ◽  
Smriti Ghosh ◽  
Anirban Bhattacharyya ◽  
Mohd Kamran ◽  
Sonali Das ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a parasitic disease causes serious medical consequences if treatment is delayed. Despite a decline in the number of VL cases in the Indian Subcontinent, commencement of the disease in newer areas continues to be a major concern. Although serological diagnosis mainly by immunochromatographic tests has been found to be effective, test for cure in different phases of treatment is still desired. Even though good prophylactic response has been obtained in murine models by a number of vaccine candidates, few have been proposed for human use. Methods In this study, nine antigenic components (31, 34, 36, 45, 51, 63, 72, 91 and 97 kDa) of Leishmania promastigote membrane antigens, LAg, were electroeluted and evaluated through ELISA to diagnose and distinguish active VL from one month cured and six month past infection. Further, to investigate the immunogenicity of electroeluted proteins, humans PBMCs of cured VL patients were stimulated with 31, 34, 51, 63, 72, and 91 kDa proteins. Results We found that 34 and 51 kDa fractions show 100% sensitivity and specificity with healthy controls and other diseases. After six months post treatment antibodies to 72 and 91 kDa antigens show a significant decline to almost normal levels. This suggests that 34 and 51 kDa are efficient in diagnosis whereas 72 and 91 kDa may be used to monitor treatment outcome. In another study, 51 and 63 kDa proteins demonstrated maximum ability for up-regulate IFN-g and IL-12 with minimum induction of IL-10 and TGF-β. The results indicating that 51 and 63 kDa proteins could be strong candidates for human immunization against VL. In contrast, 34 and 91 kDa demonstrated a reverse profile and may not be a good vaccine candidate. Conclusions The preliminary data obtained in this study proposes the potential of some of the antigens in Leishmania diagnosis and for test of cure. Additionally, some antigens demonstrated good immunoprophylactic cytokine production through T cell mediated immune response suggesting future vaccine candidates for VL. However, further studies are necessary to explore these antigens in diagnosis and to access long-term immune response.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarfaraz Ahmad Ejazi ◽  
Smriti Ghosh ◽  
Anirban Bhattacharyya ◽  
Mohd Kamran ◽  
Sonali Das ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), is a parasitic disease that causes serious medical consequences if treatment is delayed. Despite a decline in the number of VL cases in the Indian subcontinent, the commencement of the disease in newer areas continues to be a major concern. Although serological diagnosis mainly by immunochromatographic tests has been found to be effective, a test of cure in different phases of treatment is still desired. Even though a good prophylactic response has been obtained in murine models by a number of vaccine candidates, few have been proposed for human use. Methods In this study, nine antigenic components (31, 34, 36, 45, 51, 63, 72, 91 and 97 kDa) of Leishmania promastigote membrane antigens (LAg), were electroeluted and evaluated through ELISA to diagnose and distinguish active VL from one month cured and six months post-treatment patients. Further, to investigate the immunogenicity of electroeluted proteins, human PBMCs of cured VL patients were stimulated with 31, 34, 51, 63, 72 and 91 kDa proteins. Results We found that 34 and 51 kDa proteins show 100% sensitivity and specificity with healthy controls and other diseases. After six months post-treatment, antibodies to 72 and 91 kDa antigens show a significant decline to almost normal levels. This suggests that 34 and 51 kDa proteins are efficient in diagnosis, whereas 72 and 91 kDa proteins may be used to monitor treatment outcome. In another assay, 51 and 63 kDa proteins demonstrated maximum ability to upregulate IFN-γ and IL-12 with minimum induction of IL-10 and TGF-β. The results indicating that 51 and 63 kDa proteins could be strong candidates for human immunization against VL. In contrast, 34 and 91 kDa proteins demonstrated a reverse profile and may not be a good vaccine candidate. Conclusions The preliminary data obtained in this study proposes the potential of some of the antigens in Leishmania diagnosis and for test of cure. Additionally, some antigens demonstrated good immunoprophylactic cytokine production through T cell-mediated immune response, suggesting future vaccine candidates for VL. However, further studies are necessary to explore these antigens in diagnosis and to access the long-term immune response.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragya D Yadav ◽  
Sanjay Kumar ◽  
Kshitij Agarwal ◽  
Mukul Jain ◽  
Dilip R Patil ◽  
...  

AbstractVaccines remain the key protective measure to achieve herd immunity to control the disease burden and stop COVID-19 pandemic. We have developed and assessed the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of two formulations (1mg and 2mg) of ZyCoV-D (a plasmid DNA based vaccine candidates) administered through Needle Free Injection System (NFIS) and syringe-needle (intradermal) in rhesus macaques with three dose vaccine regimens. The vaccine candidate 2mg dose administered using Needle Free Injection System (NFIS) elicited a significant immune response with development of SARS-CoV-2 S1 spike region specific IgG and neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers during the immunization phase and significant enhancement in the levels after the virus challenge. In 2 mg NFIS group the IgG and NAb titers were maintained and showed gradual rise during the immunization period (15 weeks) and till 2 weeks after the virus challenge. It also conferred better protection to macaques evident by the viral clearance from nasal swab, throat swab and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid specimens in comparison with macaques from other immunized groups. In contrast, the animals from placebo group developed high levels of viremia and lung disease following the virus challenge. Besides this, the vaccine candidate also induced increase lymphocyte proliferation and cytokines response (IL-6, IL-5).The administration of the vaccine candidate with NFIS generated a better immunogenicity response in comparison to syringe-needle (intradermal route). The study demonstrated immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the vaccine candidate, ZyCoV-D in rhesus macaques.


2011 ◽  
Vol 79 (9) ◽  
pp. 3653-3658 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Arenas-Gamboa ◽  
A. C. Rice-Ficht ◽  
M. M. Kahl-McDonagh ◽  
T. A. Ficht

ABSTRACTBrucellosis is a zoonosis of nearly worldwide distribution. Vaccination against this pathogen is an important control strategy to prevent the disease. Currently licensed vaccine strains used in animals are unacceptable for human use due to undesirable side effects and modest protection. Substantial progress has been made during the past 10 years toward the development of improved vaccines for brucellosis. In part, this has been achieved by the identification and characterization of live attenuated mutants that are safer in the host but still can stimulate an adequate immune response. In the present study, the identification and characterization of themucRmutant (BMEI 1364) as a vaccine candidate for brucellosis was conducted. BALB/c mice were vaccinated intraperitoneally at a dose of 105CFU with the mutant to evaluate safety and protective efficacy against intraperitoneal and aerosol challenge. All animals vaccinated with the vaccine candidate demonstrated a statistically significant degree of protection against both intraperitoneal and aerosol challenge. Safety was revealed by the absence ofBrucellaassociated pathological changes, including splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, or granulomatous disease. These results suggest that the 16MΔmucRvaccine is safe, elicits a strong protective immunity, and should be considered as a promising vaccine candidate for human use.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pragya D. Yadav ◽  
Raches Ella ◽  
Sanjay Kumar ◽  
Dilip R. Patil ◽  
Sreelekshmy Mohandas ◽  
...  

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that poses a great challenge to the public health system of affected countries. Safe and effective vaccines are needed to overcome this crisis. Here, we develop and assess the protective efficacy and immunogenicity of an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in rhesus macaques. Twenty macaques were divided into four groups of five animals each. One group was administered a placebo, while three groups were immunized with three different vaccine candidates of BBV152 at 0 and 14 days. All the macaques were challenged with SARS-CoV-2 fourteen days after the second dose. The protective response was observed with increasing SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and neutralizing antibody titers from 3rd-week post-immunization. Viral clearance was observed from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, nasal swab, throat swab and lung tissues at 7 days post-infection in the vaccinated groups. No evidence of pneumonia was observed by histopathological examination in vaccinated groups, unlike the placebo group which exhibited interstitial pneumonia and localization of viral antigen in the alveolar epithelium and macrophages by immunohistochemistry. This vaccine candidate BBV152 has completed Phase I/II (NCT04471519) clinical trials in India and is presently in phase III, data of this study substantiates the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the vaccine candidates.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei-Ping Jin ◽  
Jia Lu ◽  
Xiao-Yu Zhang ◽  
Jie Wu ◽  
Zhen-Ni Wei ◽  
...  

Coxsackievirus A5 (CV-A5) has recently emerged as a main hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) pathogen. Following a large-scale vaccination campaign against enterovirus 71 (EV-71) in China, the number of HFMD-associated cases with EV-71 was reduced, especially severe and fatal cases. However, the total number of HFMD cases remains high, as HFMD is also caused by other enterovirus serotypes. A multivalent HFMD vaccine containing 4 or 6 antigens of enterovirus serotypes is urgently needed. A formaldehyde-inactivated CV-A5 vaccine derived from Vero cells was used to inoculate newborn Kunming mice on days 3 and 10. The mice were challenged on day 14 with a mouse-adapted CV-A5 strain at a lethal dose, which was lethal for 14-day-old suckling mice. Within 14 days post-challenge, groups of mice immunized with three formulations, empty particles (EPs), full particles (FPs) and a mixture of the EP and FP vaccine candidates, all survived, while 100% of the mock-immunized mice died. Neutralizing antibodies (NtAbs) were detected in the sera of immunized mice, and the NtAb levels were correlated with the survival rate of the challenged mice. The virus loads in organs were reduced, and pathological changes and viral protein expression were weak or not observed in the immunized mice compared with those in alum-inoculated control mice. Another interesting finding was the identification of CV-A5 dense particles (DPs), facilitating morphogenesis study. These results demonstrated that the Vero cell-adapted CV-A5 strain is a promising vaccine candidate and could be used as a multivalent HFMD vaccine component in the future. IMPORTANCE The vaccine candidate strain CV-A5 was produced with a high infectivity titer and a high viral particle yield. Three particle forms, empty particles (EPs), full particles (FPs) and dense particles (DPs), were obtained and characterized after purification. The immunogenicities of EP, FP, and EP+FP were evaluated in mice. Mouse-adapted CV-A5 was generated as a challenge strain to infect 14-day-old mice. An active immunization challenge mouse model was established to evaluate the efficacy of the inactivated vaccine candidate. This animal model mimics vaccination, similar immune responses of the vaccinated. The animal model also tests protective efficacy in response to the vaccine against the disease. This work is important for the preparation of multivalent vaccines against HFMD caused by different emerging strains.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
Izabela K Ragan ◽  
Lindsay M Hartson ◽  
Taru S Dutt ◽  
Andres Obregon-Henao ◽  
Rachel M Maison ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated intense interest in the rapid development and evaluation of vaccine candidates for this disease and other emerging diseases. Several novel methods for preparing vaccine candidates are currently undergoing clinical evaluation in response to the urgent need to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In many cases, these methods rely on new approaches for vaccine production and immune stimulation. We report on the use of a novel method (SolaVAX) for production of an inactivated vaccine candidate and the testing of that candidate in a hamster animal model for its ability to prevent infection upon challenge with SARS-CoV-2 virus. The studies employed in this work included an evaluation of the levels of neutralizing antibody produced post-vaccination, levels of specific antibody sub-types to RBD and spike protein that were generated, evaluation of viral shedding post-challenge, flow cytometric and single cell sequencing data on cellular fractions and histopathological evaluation of tissues post-challenge. The results from this preliminary evaluation provide insight into the immunological responses occurring as a result of vaccination with the proposed vaccine candidate and the impact that adjuvant formulations, specifically developed to promote Th1 type immune responses, have on vaccine efficacy and protection against infection following challenge with live SARS-CoV-2. This data may have utility in the development of effective vaccine candidates broadly. Furthermore, the results of this preliminary evaluation suggest that preparation of a whole virion vaccine for COVID-19 using this specific photochemical method may have potential utility in the preparation of one such vaccine candidate.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (22) ◽  
pp. eabg7156
Author(s):  
So-Hee Hong ◽  
Hanseul Oh ◽  
Yong Wook Park ◽  
Hye Won Kwak ◽  
Eun Young Oh ◽  
...  

Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), various vaccines are being developed, with most vaccine candidates focusing on the viral spike protein. Here, we developed a previously unknown subunit vaccine comprising the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein fused with the tetanus toxoid epitope P2 (RBD-P2) and tested its efficacy in rodents and nonhuman primates (NHPs). We also investigated whether the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N) could increase vaccine efficacy. Immunization with N and RBD-P2 (RBDP2/N) + alum increased T cell responses in mice and neutralizing antibody levels in rats compared with those obtained using RBD-P2 + alum. Furthermore, in NHPs, RBD-P2/N + alum induced slightly faster SARS-CoV-2 clearance than that induced by RBD-P2 + alum, albeit without statistical significance. Our study supports further development of RBD-P2 as a vaccine candidate against SARS-CoV-2. Also, it provides insights regarding the use of N in protein-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.


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