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Tsoumani ME, Voyiatzaki C, Efstathiou A. Malaria Vaccines: From the Past towards the mRNA Vaccine Era. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1452. [PMID: 37766129 PMCID: PMC10536368 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11091452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium spp. is the etiological agent of malaria, a life-threatening parasitic disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes. Malaria remains a major global health challenge, particularly in endemic regions. Over the years, various vaccine candidates targeting different stages of Plasmodium parasite life-cycle have been explored, including subunit vaccines, vectored vaccines, and whole organism vaccines with Mosquirix, a vaccine based on a recombinant protein, as the only currently approved vaccine for Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Despite the aforementioned notable progress, challenges such as antigenic diversity, limited efficacy, resistant parasites escaping protective immunity and the need for multiple doses have hindered the development of a highly efficacious malaria vaccine. The recent success of mRNA-based vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 has sparked renewed interest in mRNA vaccine platforms. The unique mRNA vaccine features, including their potential for rapid development, scalability, and flexibility in antigen design, make them a promising avenue for malaria vaccine development. This review provides an overview of the malaria vaccines' evolution from the past towards the mRNA vaccine era and highlights their advantages in overcoming the limitations of previous malaria vaccine candidates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria E. Tsoumani
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Aigaleo, Greece; (M.E.T.); (C.V.)
| | - Chrysa Voyiatzaki
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Aigaleo, Greece; (M.E.T.); (C.V.)
| | - Antonia Efstathiou
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, 12243 Aigaleo, Greece; (M.E.T.); (C.V.)
- Immunology of Infection Group, Department of Microbiology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 11521 Athens, Greece
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Abstract
The current COVID-19 pandemic has substantially accelerated the demands for efficient vaccines. A wide spectrum of approaches includes live attenuated and inactivated viruses, protein subunits and peptides, viral vector-based delivery, DNA plasmids, and synthetic mRNA. Preclinical studies have demonstrated robust immune responses, reduced viral loads and protection against challenges with SARS-CoV-2 in rodents and primates. Vaccine candidates based on all delivery systems mentioned above have been subjected to clinical trials in healthy volunteers. Phase I clinical trials have demonstrated in preliminary findings good safety and tolerability. Evaluation of immune responses in a small number of individuals has demonstrated similar or superior levels of neutralizing antibodies in comparison to immunogenicity detected in COVID-19 patients. Both adenovirus- and mRNA-based vaccines have entered phase II and study protocols for phase III trials with 30,000 participants have been finalized.
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Mekonnen ZA, Grubor-Bauk B, Masavuli MG, Shrestha AC, Ranasinghe C, Bull RA, Lloyd AR, Gowans EJ, Wijesundara DK. Toward DNA-Based T-Cell Mediated Vaccines to Target HIV-1 and Hepatitis C Virus: Approaches to Elicit Localized Immunity for Protection. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019; 9:91. [PMID: 31001491 PMCID: PMC6456646 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are major contributors to the global disease burden with many experts recognizing the requirement of an effective vaccine to bring a durable end to these viral epidemics. The most promising vaccine candidates that have advanced into pre-clinical models and the clinic to eliminate or provide protection against these chronic viruses are viral vectors [e.g., recombinant cytomegalovirus, Adenovirus, and modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA)]. This raises the question, is there a need to develop DNA vaccines against HIV-1 and HCV? Since the initial study from Wolff and colleagues which showed that DNA represents a vector that can be used to express transgenes durably in vivo, DNA has been regularly evaluated as a vaccine vector albeit with limited success in large animal models and humans. However, several recent studies in Phase I-IIb trials showed that vaccination of patients with recombinant DNA represents a feasible therapeutic intervention to even cure cervical cancer, highlighting the potential of using DNA for human vaccinations. In this review, we will discuss the limitations and the strategies of using DNA as a vector to develop prophylactic T cell-mediated vaccines against HIV-1 and HCV. In particular, we focus on potential strategies exploiting DNA vectors to elicit protective localized CD8+ T cell immunity in the liver for HCV and in the cervicovaginal mucosa for HIV-1 as localized immunity will be an important, if not critical component, of an efficacious vaccine against these viral infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zelalem A. Mekonnen
- Virology Laboratory, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Branka Grubor-Bauk
- Virology Laboratory, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Makutiro G. Masavuli
- Virology Laboratory, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Ashish C. Shrestha
- Virology Laboratory, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Charani Ranasinghe
- Molecular Mucosal Vaccine Immunology Group, The John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Rowena A. Bull
- Viral Immunology Systems Program, The Kirby Institute, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Andrew R. Lloyd
- Viral Immunology Systems Program, The Kirby Institute, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Eric J. Gowans
- Virology Laboratory, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Danushka K. Wijesundara
- Virology Laboratory, Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Discipline of Surgery, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia,*Correspondence: Danushka K. Wijesundara
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Identification of CD4 and H-2K d-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes on the human herpesvirus 6B glycoprotein Q1 protein. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3911. [PMID: 30846739 PMCID: PMC6405833 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-40372-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The identification of Human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) epitopes that are recognized by T-cells could contribute to the development of potential vaccines and immunotherapies. Here, we identified CD4+ and H-2Kd-restricted CD8+ T-cell epitopes on the glycoprotein Q1 of HHV-6B (BgQ1), which is a unique glycoprotein and essential for HHV-6B viral entry, by using in vivo electroporation with a plasmid DNA encoding BgQ1, overlapping peptides spanning the BgQ1 sequence, ELISPOT assay for quantification of gamma interferon (IFN-γ), and computer-based T-cell epitope prediction programs. The CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes identified in BALB/c mice in this study could be a good animal model system for use in the development of T-cell responses, inducing HHV-6B vaccines or immunotherapies.
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Lee J, Arun Kumar S, Jhan YY, Bishop CJ. Engineering DNA vaccines against infectious diseases. Acta Biomater 2018; 80:31-47. [PMID: 30172933 PMCID: PMC7105045 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2018.08.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Revised: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Engineering vaccine-based therapeutics for infectious diseases is highly challenging, as trial formulations are often found to be nonspecific, ineffective, thermally or hydrolytically unstable, and/or toxic. Vaccines have greatly improved the therapeutic landscape for treating infectious diseases and have significantly reduced the threat by therapeutic and preventative approaches. Furthermore, the advent of recombinant technologies has greatly facilitated growth within the vaccine realm by mitigating risks such as virulence reversion despite making the production processes more cumbersome. In addition, seroconversion can also be enhanced by recombinant technology through kinetic and nonkinetic approaches, which are discussed herein. Recombinant technologies have greatly improved both amino acid-based vaccines and DNA-based vaccines. A plateau of interest has been reached between 2001 and 2010 for the scientific community with regard to DNA vaccine endeavors. The decrease in interest may likely be attributed to difficulties in improving immunogenic properties associated with DNA vaccines, although there has been research demonstrating improvement and optimization to this end. Despite improvement, to the extent of our knowledge, there are currently no regulatory body-approved DNA vaccines for human use (four vaccines approved for animal use). This article discusses engineering DNA vaccines against infectious diseases while discussing advantages and disadvantages of each, with an emphasis on applications of these DNA vaccines. Statement of Significance This review paper summarizes the state of the engineered/recombinant DNA vaccine field, with a scope entailing “Engineering DNA vaccines against infectious diseases”. We endeavor to emphasize recent advances, recapitulating the current state of the field. In addition to discussing DNA therapeutics that have already been clinically translated, this review also examines current research developments, and the challenges thwarting further progression. Our review covers: recombinant DNA-based subunit vaccines; internalization and processing; enhancing immune protection via adjuvants; manufacturing and engineering DNA; the safety, stability and delivery of DNA vaccines or plasmids; controlling gene expression using plasmid engineering and gene circuits; overcoming immunogenic issues; and commercial successes. We hope that this review will inspire further research in DNA vaccine development.
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Colluru VT, McNeel DG. B lymphocytes as direct antigen-presenting cells for anti-tumor DNA vaccines. Oncotarget 2018; 7:67901-67918. [PMID: 27661128 PMCID: PMC5356528 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.12178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
In spite of remarkable preclinical efficacy, DNA vaccination has demonstrated low immunogenicity in humans. While efforts have focused on increasing cross-presentation of DNA-encoded antigens, efforts to increase DNA vaccine immunogenicity by targeting direct presentation have remained mostly unexplored. In these studies, we compared the ability of different APCs to present antigen to T cells after simple co-culture with plasmid DNA. We found that human primary peripheral B lymphocytes, and not monocytes or in vitro derived dendritic cells (DCs), were able to efficiently encode antigen mRNA and expand cognate tumor antigen-specific CD8 T cells ex vivo. Similarly, murine B lymphocytes co-cultured with plasmid DNA, and not DCs, were able to prime antigen-specific T cells in vivo. Moreover, B lymphocyte-mediated presentation of plasmid antigen led to greater Th1-biased immunity and was sufficient to elicit an anti-tumor effect in vivo. Surprisingly, increasing plasmid presentation by B cells, and not cross presentation of peptides by DCs, further augmented traditional plasmid vaccination. Together, these data suggest that targeting plasmid DNA to B lymphocytes, for example through transfer of ex vivo plasmidloaded B cells, may be novel means to achieve greater T cell immunity from DNA vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viswa Teja Colluru
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Douglas G McNeel
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.,Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Choi SM, Chaudhry P, Zo SM, Han SS. Advances in Protein-Based Materials: From Origin to Novel Biomaterials. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2018; 1078:161-210. [PMID: 30357624 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-0950-2_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Biomaterials play a very important role in biomedicine and tissue engineering where they directly affect the cellular activities and their microenvironment . Myriad of techniques have been employed to fabricate a vast number natural, artificial and recombinant polymer s in order to harness these biomaterials in tissue regene ration , drug delivery and various other applications. Despite of tremendous efforts made in this field during last few decades, advanced and new generation biomaterials are still lacking. Protein based biomaterials have emerged as an attractive alternatives due to their intrinsic properties like cell to cell interaction , structural support and cellular communications. Several protein based biomaterials like, collagen , keratin , elastin , silk protein and more recently recombinant protein s are being utilized in a number of biomedical and biotechnological processes. These protein-based biomaterials have enormous capabilities, which can completely revolutionize the biomaterial world. In this review, we address an up-to date review on the novel, protein-based biomaterials used for biomedical field including tissue engineering, medical science, regenerative medicine as well as drug delivery. Further, we have also emphasized the novel fabrication techniques associated with protein-based materials and implication of these biomaterials in the domain of biomedical engineering .
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Affiliation(s)
- Soon Mo Choi
- Regional Research Institute for Fiber&Fashion Materials, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
| | - Prerna Chaudhry
- School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
| | - Sun Mi Zo
- School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
| | - Sung Soo Han
- School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea.
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Optimization of codon usage of the envelope protein E2 gene from various genotypes of hepatitis C virus to predict the expression level in Pichia pastoris. Genes Genomics 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s13258-016-0442-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Colluru VT, Zahm CD, McNeel DG. Mini-intronic plasmid vaccination elicits tolerant LAG3 + CD8 + T cells and inferior antitumor responses. Oncoimmunology 2016; 5:e1223002. [PMID: 27853647 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2016.1223002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2016] [Revised: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 08/06/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing transgene expression has been a major focus of attempts to improve DNA vaccine-induced immunity in both preclinical studies and clinical trials. Novel mini-intronic plasmids (MIPs) have been shown to cause elevated and sustained transgene expression in vivo. We sought to test the antitumor activity of a MIP, compared to standard DNA plasmid immunization, using the tumor-specific antigen SSX2 in an HLA-A2-restricted tumor model. We found that MIP vaccination elicited a greater frequency of antigen-specific CD8+ T cells when compared to conventional plasmid, and protected animals from subsequent tumor challenge. However, therapeutic vaccination with the MIP resulted in an inferior antitumor effect, and CD8+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from these mice expressed higher levels of surface LAG3. Antitumor efficacy of MIP vaccination could be recovered upon antibody blockade of LAG3. In non-tumor bearing mice, MIP immunization led to a loss of epitope dominance, attenuated CD8+ cytokine responses to the dominant p103 epitope, and increased LAG3 expression on p103-specific CD8+ T cells. Further, LAG3 expression on CD8+ T cells was associated with antigen dose and persistence in spite of DNA-induced innate immunity. These data suggest that for antitumor immunization, approaches leading to increased antigen expression following vaccination might optimally be combined with LAG3 inhibition in human trials. On the other hand, mini-intronic vector approaches may be a superior means to elicit LAG3-dependent tolerance in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viswa Teja Colluru
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Christopher D Zahm
- Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, WI, USA
| | - Douglas G McNeel
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA; Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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Abstract
DNA plasmids can be used to induce a protective (or therapeutic) immune response by delivering genes encoding vaccine antigens. That naked DNA (without the refinement of coat proteins or host evasion systems) can cross from outside the cell into the nucleus and be expressed is particularly remarkable given the sophistication of the immune system in preventing infection by pathogens. As a result of the ease, low cost, and speed of custom gene synthesis, DNA vaccines dangle a tantalizing prospect of the next wave of vaccine technology, promising individual designer vaccines for cancer or mass vaccines with a rapid response time to emerging pandemics. There is considerable enthusiasm for the use of DNA vaccination as an approach, but this enthusiasm should be tempered by the successive failures in clinical trials to induce a potent immune response. The technology is evolving with the development of improved delivery systems that increase expression levels, particularly electroporation and the incorporation of genetically encoded adjuvants. This review will introduce some key concepts in the use of DNA plasmids as vaccines, including how the DNA enters the cell and is expressed, how it induces an immune response, and a summary of clinical trials with DNA vaccines. The review also explores the advances being made in vector design, delivery, formulation, and adjuvants to try to realize the promise of this technology for new vaccines. If the immunogenicity and expression barriers can be cracked, then DNA vaccines may offer a step change in mass vaccination.
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Abstract
Robust and sustainable development of poultry industry requires prevention of deadly infectious diseases. Vigorous vaccination of the birds is a routine practice; however, the live and inactivated vaccines that are used have inherent disadvantages. New-generation vaccines such as DNA vaccines offer several advantages over conventional vaccines. DNA vaccines, which encode an antigen of interest or multiple antigens in the target host, are stable, easy to produce and administer, do not require cold chain maintenance, and are not affected by the maternal antibodies. In addition, DNA vaccines can also be administered in ovo, and thus, mass vaccination and early induction of immune response can effectively be achieved. In this chapter, we focus on the development of DNA vaccines against important infectious viral as well as parasitic diseases of poultry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shishir Kumar Gupta
- Division of Veterinary Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, 243122, India.
| | - Sohini Dey
- Division of Veterinary Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, 243122, India
| | - Madhan Mohan Chellappa
- Division of Veterinary Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, 243122, India
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Yoon SK, Seo YB, Im SJ, Bae SH, Song MJ, You CR, Jang JW, Yang SH, Suh YS, Song JS, Kim BM, Kim CY, Jeong SH, Sung YC. Safety and immunogenicity of therapeutic DNA vaccine with antiviral drug in chronic HBV patients and its immunogenicity in mice. Liver Int 2015; 35:805-15. [PMID: 24620920 DOI: 10.1111/liv.12530] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2013] [Accepted: 03/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Here, we evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA vaccine, HB-110, in mice and Korean patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) undergoing adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) treatment. METHODS For animal study, mice (BALB/c or HBV transgenic) were immunized with mHB-110, and T-cell and antibody responses were evaluated. For clinical study, 27 patients randomly received either ADV alone or ADV in combination with HB-110. Liver function tests, serum HBV DNA levels and the presence of HBeAg/anti-HBe were analysed. T-cell responses were estimated by ELISPOT and FACS analysis. RESULTS mHB-110 induced higher T-cell and antibody responses than mHB-100 in mice. No adverse effects were observed by HB-110 cotreated with ADV. HBV-specific T-cell responses were induced in a portion of patients in medium to high dose of HB-110. Interestingly, HB-110 exhibited positive effects on ALT normalization and maintenance of HBeAg seroconversion. One patient, who received high dose of HB-110 exhibited HBeAg seroconversion during vaccination, which correlated with vaccine-induced T-cell responses without ALT elevation. CONCLUSIONS HB-110 was safe and tolerable in CHB patients. In contrast to results in animal models, HB-110 in Korean patients exhibited weaker capability of inducing HBV-specific T-cell responses and HBeAg seroconversion than HB-100 in Caucasian patients. As Asian patients, who are generally infected via vertical transmission, appeared to have higher level of immune tolerance than Caucasian, novel approaches for breaking immune tolerance rather than enhancing immunogenicity may be more urgently demanded to develop effective therapeutic HBV DNA vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seung Kew Yoon
- Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
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Zhu Y, Chen M, Gong Y, Liu Z, Li A, Kang D, Han F, Liu J, Liu J, Yuan Y. Helicobacter pylori FKBP-type PPIase promotes gastric epithelial cell proliferation and anchorage-independent growth through activation of ERK-mediated mitogenic signaling pathway. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2015; 362:fnv023. [DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnv023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
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Hung JT, Tsai YC, Lin WD, Jan JT, Lin KH, Huang JR, Cheng JY, Chen MW, Wong CH, Yu AL. Potent adjuvant effects of novel NKT stimulatory glycolipids on hemagglutinin based DNA vaccine for H5N1 influenza virus. Antiviral Res 2014; 107:110-8. [PMID: 24786174 DOI: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2013] [Revised: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 04/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
H5N1 influenza virus is a highly pathogenic virus, posing a pandemic threat. Previously, we showed that phenyl analogs of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) displayed greater NKT stimulation than α-GalCer. Here, we examined the adjuvant effects of one of the most potent analogs, C34, on consensus hemagglutinin based DNA vaccine (pCHA5) for H5N1 virus. Upon intramuscular electroporation of mice with pCHA5 with/without various α-GalCer analogs, C34-adjuvanted group developed the highest titer against consensus H5 and more HA-specific IFN-γ secreting CD8 cells (203±13.5) than pCHA5 alone (152.6±13.7, p<0.05). Upon lethal challenge of NIBRG-14 virus, C34-adjuvanted group (84.6%) displayed higher survival rate than pCHA5 only group (46.1%). In the presence of C34 as adjuvant, the antisera displayed broader and greater neutralizing activities against virions pseudotyped with HA of clade 1, and 2.2 than pCHA5 only group. Moreover, to simulate an emergency response to a sudden H5N1 outbreak, we injected mice intramuscularly with single dose of a new consensus H5 (pCHA5-II) based on 1192 full-length H5 sequences, with C34 as adjuvant. The latter not only enhanced the humoral immune response and protection against virus challenge, but also broadened the spectrum of neutralization against pseudotyped HA viruses. Our vaccine strategy can be easily implemented for any H5N1 virus outbreak by single IM injection of a consensus H5 DNA vaccine based on updated HA sequences using C34 as an adjuvant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung-Tung Hung
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Institute of Stem Cell and Translational Cancer Research, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chieh Tsai
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Der Lin
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Life Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
| | - Jia-Tsrong Jan
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
| | - Kun-Hsien Lin
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan
| | - Jing-Rong Huang
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Institute and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Jing-Yan Cheng
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Life Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Wei Chen
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Chi-Huey Wong
- Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Alice L Yu
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan; Institute of Stem Cell and Translational Cancer Research, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan.
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Bet A, Sterret S, Sato A, Bansal A, Goepfert PA. Characterization of T-cell responses to cryptic epitopes in recipients of a noncodon-optimized HIV-1 vaccine. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2014; 65:142-50. [PMID: 24442221 PMCID: PMC3896890 DOI: 10.1097/qai.0b013e3182a9917e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cryptic epitopes (CEs) can be encoded by any of the 5 alternative reading frames (ARFs, 2 sense and 3 antisense) of a known gene. Although CE responses are commonly detected during HIV-1 infection, it is not known whether these responses are induced after vaccination. METHODS Using a bioinformatic approach, we determined that vaccines with codon-optimized HIV inserts significantly skewed CE sequences and are not likely to induce crossreactive responses to natural HIV CE. We then evaluated the CE- and protein-specific T-cell responses using Gag, Pol, and ARF peptide pools among participants immunized with a non-codon optimized vaccine regimen of 2 pGA2/JS7 DNA primes followed by 2 MVA/HIV62 Gag-Pol-Env vector boosts or 4 saline injections. RESULTS Vaccinees had significantly more interferon gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (IFNγ ELISpot) responses toward Gag (P = 0.003) but not toward Pol protein than did placebo recipients. However, CE-specific T-cell responses were low in magnitude, and their frequencies did not differ significantly between vaccine and placebo recipients. Additionally, most positive CE responses could not be mapped to individual peptides. After expanding responses in a cultured assay, however, the frequency and the median magnitude of responses to ARF peptides were significantly greater in vaccinees (P < 0.0001), indicating that CE-specific T-cell responses are present but below an ex vivo assay's limit of detection. CONCLUSIONS Our data demonstrate that HIV-1 vaccines currently in clinical trials are poorly immunogenic with regard to CE-specific T-cell responses. Therefore, the context of HIV-1 immunogens may need to be modified as a comprehensive strategy to broaden vaccine-induced T-cell responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Bet
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL USA 35294
| | - Sarah Sterret
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL USA 35294
| | - Alicia Sato
- Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research & Prevention (SCHARP), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109-1024
| | - Anju Bansal
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL USA 35294
| | - Paul A. Goepfert
- Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL USA 35294
- Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL USA 35294
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Chu D, Kazana E, Bellanger N, Singh T, Tuite MF, von der Haar T. Translation elongation can control translation initiation on eukaryotic mRNAs. EMBO J 2013; 33:21-34. [PMID: 24357599 DOI: 10.1002/embj.201385651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Synonymous codons encode the same amino acid, but differ in other biophysical properties. The evolutionary selection of codons whose properties are optimal for a cell generates the phenomenon of codon bias. Although recent studies have shown strong effects of codon usage changes on protein expression levels and cellular physiology, no translational control mechanism is known that links codon usage to protein expression levels. Here, we demonstrate a novel translational control mechanism that responds to the speed of ribosome movement immediately after the start codon. High initiation rates are only possible if start codons are liberated sufficiently fast, thus accounting for the observation that fast codons are overrepresented in highly expressed proteins. In contrast, slow codons lead to slow liberation of the start codon by initiating ribosomes, thereby interfering with efficient translation initiation. Codon usage thus evolved as a means to optimise translation on individual mRNAs, as well as global optimisation of ribosome availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominique Chu
- School of Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
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Nevozhay D, Zal T, Balázsi G. Transferring a synthetic gene circuit from yeast to mammalian cells. Nat Commun 2013; 4:1451. [PMID: 23385595 PMCID: PMC3573884 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2012] [Accepted: 01/10/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The emerging field of synthetic biology builds gene circuits for scientific, industrial, and therapeutic needs. Adaptability of synthetic gene circuits across different organisms could enable a synthetic biology pipeline, where circuits are designed in silico, characterized in microbes and reimplemented in mammalian settings for practical usage. However, the processes affecting gene circuit adaptability have not been systematically investigated. Here we construct a mammalian version of a negative feedback-based “linearizer” gene circuit previously developed in yeast. The first naïve mammalian prototype was non-functional, but a computational model suggested that we could recover function by improving gene expression and protein localization. After rationally developing and combining new parts as the model suggested, we regained function and could tune target gene expression in human cells linearly and precisely as in yeast. The steps we have taken should be generally relevant for transferring any gene circuit from yeast into mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Nevozhay
- Department of Systems Biology-Unit 950, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 7435 Fannin Street, Houston, Texas 77054, USA
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19
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Strong purifying selection at synonymous sites in D. melanogaster. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003527. [PMID: 23737754 PMCID: PMC3667748 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2013] [Accepted: 04/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Synonymous sites are generally assumed to be subject to weak selective constraint. For this reason, they are often neglected as a possible source of important functional variation. We use site frequency spectra from deep population sequencing data to show that, contrary to this expectation, 22% of four-fold synonymous (4D) sites in Drosophila melanogaster evolve under very strong selective constraint while few, if any, appear to be under weak constraint. Linking polymorphism with divergence data, we further find that the fraction of synonymous sites exposed to strong purifying selection is higher for those positions that show slower evolution on the Drosophila phylogeny. The function underlying the inferred strong constraint appears to be separate from splicing enhancers, nucleosome positioning, and the translational optimization generating canonical codon bias. The fraction of synonymous sites under strong constraint within a gene correlates well with gene expression, particularly in the mid-late embryo, pupae, and adult developmental stages. Genes enriched in strongly constrained synonymous sites tend to be particularly functionally important and are often involved in key developmental pathways. Given that the observed widespread constraint acting on synonymous sites is likely not limited to Drosophila, the role of synonymous sites in genetic disease and adaptation should be reevaluated.
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20
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Nagata T, Koide Y. Identification of T cell epitopes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with biolistic DNA vaccination. Methods Mol Biol 2013; 940:285-303. [PMID: 23104350 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-62703-110-3_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) has been listed as one of the most prevalent and serious infectious diseases worldwide. The etiological pathogen of TB is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), a facultative intracellular bacterium. Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only approved vaccine against TB to date. BCG has been widely used, but the efficacy is questionable, especially in adult pulmonary TB. Therefore, more effective, safe and reliable TB vaccines have been urgently needed. T cell-mediated cellular immune response is a key immune response for effective protective immunity against TB. DNA vaccines using Mtb antigens have been studied as promising future TB vaccines. Most TB DNA vaccine studies so far reported used intramuscular or intradermal injection with needles, as these methods tend to induce a type 1 helper T lymphocyte (Th1)-type immune response that is critical for the protective immunity. We have been using DNA vaccines with gene gun bombardment for T cell epitope identification of various Mtb antigens. We show here our strategy to identify precise Mtb T cell epitopes using DNA vaccines with gene gun bombardment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshi Nagata
- Department of Health Science, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan.
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21
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Hutnick NA, Myles DJF, Hirao L, Scott VL, Ferraro B, Khan AS, Lewis MG, Miller CJ, Bett AJ, Casimiro D, Sardesai NY, Kim JJ, Shiver J, Weiner DB. An optimized SIV DNA vaccine can serve as a boost for Ad5 and provide partial protection from a high-dose SIVmac251 challenge. Vaccine 2012; 30:3202-8. [PMID: 22406458 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.02.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2012] [Revised: 02/21/2012] [Accepted: 02/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
One limitation in the development of an improved cellular response needed for an effective HIV-vaccine is the inability to induce robust effector T-cells capable of suppressing a heterologous challenge. To improve cellular immune responses, we examined the ability of an optimized DNA vaccine to boost the cellular immune responses induced by a highly immunogenic Ad5 prime. Five Chinese rhesus macaques received pVax encoding consensus (con) gag/pol/env intramuscularly (IM) with electroporation followed by the Merck Ad5 gag/pol/nef vaccine. A second group of five animals were vaccinated with Merck Ad5 gag/pol/nef followed by pVax gag/pol/env. One year following vaccination, Ad5-prime DNA-boosted monkeys and four unvaccinated controls received an intrarectal challenge with 1000 ID50 SIV(mac)251. The quality and magnitude of the T-cell response was analyzed by ELISpot and polyfunctional flow cytometry. We observed that an Ad5-prime DNA-boost resulted in significantly elevated SIV-specific T-cell responses even compared with animals receiving a DNA-prime Ad5-boost. Ad5 prime DNA boosted animals were capable of suppressing a pathogenic SIV(mac)251 challenge. Peak control correlated with the expansion of HLA-DR(+) CD8(+) T-cells two weeks post-infection. These data illustrate that high optimization of a DNA vaccine can drive of immune responses primed by a robust vector system. This previously unachievable feature of these newly optimized DNAs warrants future studies of this strategy that may circumvent issues of serology associated with viral vector prime-boost systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie A Hutnick
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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22
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Zhao KN, Chen J. Codon usage roles in human papillomavirus. Rev Med Virol 2011; 21:397-411. [PMID: 22025363 DOI: 10.1002/rmv.707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2011] [Revised: 07/07/2011] [Accepted: 07/11/2011] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) genomes, similar to other virus genomes, frequently have a G + C content significantly different from their host species. The HPV genomes show a strong codon usage bias to 18 codons, with 14 showing T at the third position amongst degenerately encoded amino acids. The codon usage pattern in HPV genome plays an important role, which regulates low or non-translational expression of the viral capsid genes and results in very weak protein expression of oncogenes in a wide range of mammalian cells. Codon modification has been proved to be a powerful technology to overcome the translational blockage and weak expression of both HPV capsid genes and oncogenes in different expression systems. Furthermore, keratinocytes are the host cells of HPV infection; the codon usage in HPV capsid genes matches available aminoacyl-tRNAs in differentiated keratinocytes to modulate their protein expression. HPV DNA vaccines with codon optimization have been shown to have higher immunogenicity and induce both strong cellular and humoral responses in animal models, which may be a promising form of therapeutic HPV vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kong-Nan Zhao
- UQ Centre for Clinical Research, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
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23
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Codon optimization of the major antigen encoding genes of diverse strains of influenza a virus. Interdiscip Sci 2011; 3:36-42. [DOI: 10.1007/s12539-011-0055-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2010] [Revised: 05/06/2010] [Accepted: 05/14/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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24
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Gasmi N, Fudalej F, Kallel H, Nicaud JM. A molecular approach to optimize hIFN α2b expression and secretion in Yarrowia lipolytica. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2010; 89:109-19. [PMID: 20821205 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-010-2803-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2010] [Revised: 07/26/2010] [Accepted: 07/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
In this work, we investigated the effect of codon bias and consensus sequence (CACA) at the translation initiation site on the expression level of heterologous proteins in Yarrowia lipolytica; human interferon alpha 2b (hIFN-α2b) was studied as an example. A codon optimized hIFN-α2b gene was synthesized according to the frequency of codon usage in Y. lipolytica. Both wild-type (IFN-wt) and optimized hIFN-α2b (IFN-op) genes were expressed under the control of a strong inducible promoter acyl-co-enzyme A oxidase (POX2). Protein secretion was directed by the targeting sequence of the extracellular lipase (LIP2): pre-proLIP2. Codon optimization increased protein production by 11-fold, whereas the insertion of CACA sequence upstream of the initiation codon of IFN-op construct resulted in 16.5-fold increase of the expression level; this indicates that translational efficiency plays an important part in the increase of hIFN-α2b production level. The replacement of the pre-proLIP2 signal secretion with the LIP2 pre-region sequence followed by the X-Ala/X-Pro stretch but without the pro-region also increased the secretion of the target protein by twofold, suggesting therefore that the LIP2 pro-region is not necessary for extracellular secretion of small heterologous proteins in Yarrowia lipolytica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najla Gasmi
- INRA, UMR1319 Micalis, Domaine de Vilvert, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas, France
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25
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Sengupta D, Heilshorn SC. Protein-Engineered Biomaterials: Highly Tunable Tissue Engineering Scaffolds. TISSUE ENGINEERING PART B-REVIEWS 2010; 16:285-93. [DOI: 10.1089/ten.teb.2009.0591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 125] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Debanti Sengupta
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Sarah C. Heilshorn
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California
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26
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Nagata T, Koide Y. [T-cell-oriented vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis]. Nihon Saikingaku Zasshi 2010; 65:309-24. [PMID: 20505270 DOI: 10.3412/jsb.65.309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Toshi Nagata
- Department of Health Science, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu
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27
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Induction of Specific CD8 T Cells against Intracellular Bacteria by CD8 T-Cell-Oriented Immunization Approaches. J Biomed Biotechnol 2010; 2010:764542. [PMID: 20508818 PMCID: PMC2875770 DOI: 10.1155/2010/764542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2009] [Revised: 02/26/2010] [Accepted: 02/27/2010] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
For protection against intracellular bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Listeria monocytogenes, the cellular arm of adaptive immunity is necessary. A variety of immunization methods have been evaluated and are reported to induce specific CD8+ T cells against intracellular bacterial infection. Modified BCG vaccines have been examined to enhance CD8+ T-cell responses. Naked DNA vaccination is a promising strategy to induce CD8+ T cells. In addition to this strategy, live attenuated intracellular bacteria such as Shigella, Salmonella, and Listeria have been utilized as carriers of DNA vaccines in animal models. Vaccination with dendritic cells pulsed with antigenic peptides or the cells introduced antigen genes by virus vectors such as retroviruses is also a powerful strategy. Furthermore, vaccination with recombinant lentivirus has been attempted to induce specific CD8+ T cells. Combinations of these strategies (prime-boost immunization) have been studied for the efficient induction of intracellular bacteria-specific CD8+ T cells.
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28
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Bioinformatics in new generation flavivirus vaccines. J Biomed Biotechnol 2010; 2010:864029. [PMID: 20467477 PMCID: PMC2867002 DOI: 10.1155/2010/864029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2009] [Revised: 12/21/2009] [Accepted: 03/02/2010] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Flavivirus infections are the most prevalent arthropod-borne infections world wide, often causing severe disease especially among children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised. In the absence of effective antiviral treatment, prevention through vaccination would greatly reduce morbidity and mortality associated with flavivirus infections. Despite the success of the empirically developed vaccines against yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus, there is an increasing need for a more rational design and development of safe and effective vaccines. Several bioinformatic tools are available to support such rational vaccine design. In doing so, several parameters have to be taken into account, such as safety for the target population, overall immunogenicity of the candidate vaccine, and efficacy and longevity of the immune responses triggered. Examples of how bio-informatics is applied to assist in the rational design and improvements of vaccines, particularly flavivirus vaccines, are presented and discussed.
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29
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Laddy DJ, Weiner DB. From Plasmids to Protection: A Review of DNA Vaccines Against Infectious Diseases. Int Rev Immunol 2009; 25:99-123. [PMID: 16818367 DOI: 10.1080/08830180600785827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The field of DNA vaccine development began over 16 years ago with the observation that plasmid DNA could be injected into and expressed in vivo and drive adaptive immune responses. Since then, there has been great interest in developing this technology to create a new generation of vaccines with the ability to elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses from an inherently innocuous injection. However, DNA vaccines have yet to proceed past phase I/II clinical trials in humans--primarily due to a desire to induce more potent immune responses. This review will examine how DNA vaccines function to induce an immune response and how this information might be useful in future vaccine design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominick J Laddy
- Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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30
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Dobaño C, Sedegah M, Rogers WO, Kumar S, Zheng H, Hoffman SL, Doolan DL. Plasmodium: Mammalian codon optimization of malaria plasmid DNA vaccines enhances antibody responses but not T cell responses nor protective immunity. Exp Parasitol 2009; 122:112-23. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2009.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2008] [Revised: 12/27/2008] [Accepted: 02/18/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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31
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Abstract
We have focused our research on understanding the basic biology of and developing novel therapeutic and prophylactic DNA vaccines. We have among others three distinct primary areas of interest which include: 1. Enhancing in vivo delivery and transfection of DNA vaccine vectors 2. Improving DNA vaccine construct immunogenicity 3. Using molecular adjuvants to modulate and skew immune responses. Key to the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines is the presentation of expressed antigen to antigen-presenting cells. To improve expression and presentation of antigen, we have investigated various immunization methods with current focus on a combination of intramuscular injection and electroporation. To improve our vaccine constructs, we also employed methods such as RNA/codon optimization and antigen consensus to enhance expression and cellular/humoral cross-reactivity, respectively. Our lab also researches the potential of various molecular adjuvants to skew Th1/Th2 responses, enhance cellular/humoral responses, and improve protection in various animal models. Through improving our understanding of basic immunology as it is related to DNA vaccine technology, our goal is to develop the technology to the point of utility for human and animal health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaheed A Abdulhaqq
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 422 Curie Blvd, 505 Stellar-Chance Laboratories, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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32
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Li N, Zhao JJ, Zhao HP, Sun Y, Zhu QH, Tong GZ, Qiu HJ. Protection of pigs from lethal challenge by a DNA vaccine based on an alphavirus replicon expressing the E2 glycoprotein of classical swine fever virus. J Virol Methods 2007; 144:73-8. [PMID: 17499369 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2007.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2007] [Revised: 03/21/2007] [Accepted: 03/28/2007] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In a previous study, it has been shown that a Semliki Forest virus (SFV) replicon vectored DNA vaccine (pSFV1CS-E2) expressing the E2 glycoprotein of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) conferred full protection for pigs immunized three times with 600 microg of the vaccine. This study was designed to evaluate further the efficacy of the vaccine with lower dosage and fewer inoculations. Pigs were immunized twice with 100 microg of pSFV1CS-E2 (n=5) or control plasmid pSFV1CS (n=3), respectively, and challenged with virulent Shimen strain 6 weeks following the booster immunization. Pigs immunized with pSFV1CS-E2 developed high titers of specific neutralizing antibodies against CSFV after the booster, and the antibody titers increased rapidly upon challenge. The immunized animals showed no clinical symptoms except short-term fever and low-level viremia, whereas, the control pigs immunized with the control plasmid produced no detectable antibody prior to challenge, and showed obvious clinical signs following challenge, and two pigs died of illness. All control animals developed extended viremia as detected by nested RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR. Severe pathologic lesions typical of CSFV infection were observed at necropsy. It is concluded that the alphavirus replicon-vectored DNA-based vaccine can be a potential marker vaccine against CSFV.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Li
- National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150001, China
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33
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Kumar SR, Parameswaran V, Ahmed VPI, Musthaq SS, Hameed ASS. Protective efficiency of DNA vaccination in Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) against Vibrio anguillarum. FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY 2007; 23:316-26. [PMID: 17337208 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2006.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2006] [Revised: 11/01/2006] [Accepted: 11/10/2006] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Vibriosis is one of the most prevalent fish diseases caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Vibrio. Vibriosis caused by Vibrio anguillarum produces a 38-kDa major outer membrane porin protein (OMP) for biofilm formation and bile resistant activity. The gene encoding the porin was used to construct DNA vaccine. The protective efficiency of such vaccine against V. anguillarum causing acute vibrio haemorrhagic septicaemia was evaluated in Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer Bloch), a common species of the Indian coast and a potential resource for the aquaculture industry. In vitro protein expression of porin gene was determined by fluorescent microscopy after transfection of seabass kidney cell line (SISK). Fish immunized with a single intramuscular injection of 20 microg of the OMP38 DNA vaccine showed significant serum antibody levels in 5th and 7th weeks after vaccination, compared to fish vaccinated with the control eukaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1. Asian seabass vaccinated with the OMP38 DNA vaccine was challenged with pathogenic V. anguillarum by intramuscular injection. A relative percent survival (RPS) rate of 55.6% was recorded. Bacterial agglutination and serum complement activity was analysed by using DNA vaccinated seabass serum above 80% of analysed strain was killed at the highest agglutination titre. Histopathological signs of V. anguillarum challenged fish were observed in around 45% of pVAOMP38, 90% of PBS and 87% of pcDNA3.1-vaccinated control fish. The results indicate that L. calcarifer vaccinated with a single dose of DNA plasmid encoding the major outer membrane protein shows moderate protection against acute haemorrhagic septicaemia and mortality by V. anguillarum experimental infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Rajesh Kumar
- Aquaculture Biotechnology Division, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam 632 509, Vellore Dt., Tamil Nadu, India
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Zheng Y, Zhao WM, Wang H, Zhou YB, Luan Y, Qi M, Cheng YZ, Tang W, Liu J, Yu H, Yu XP, Fan YJ, Yang X. Codon usage bias in Chlamydia trachomatis and the effect of codon modification in the MOMP gene on immune responses to vaccinationThis paper is one of a selection of papers in this Special Issue, entitled International Symposium on Recent Advances in Molecular, Clinical, and Social Medicine, and has undergone the Journal's usual peer-review process. Biochem Cell Biol 2007; 85:218-26. [PMID: 17534403 DOI: 10.1139/o06-211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Chlamydia trachomatis is a kind of obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes ocular and sexually transmitted diseases. In this study, we analyzed the codon usage patterns of the C. trachomatis mouse pneumonitis biovar (MoPn) and Homo sapiens. We found large differences between MoPn and human codon usages. To enhance the expression of Chlamydia protein in mammalian cells, the DNA sequence encoding the major outer-membrane protein (MOMP) of MoPn was modified to substitute the human-preferred codons for rarely used codons. The huma-optimized MOMP gene was synthesized and cloned into the pcDNA3 vector, as was the wild-type MOMP gene. The protein expression levels of the human-optimized MOMP and wild-type MOMP genes were compared. The experiments showed that the human-optimized MOMP gene produced significantly higher levels of MOMP protein than the wild-type MOMP, both in vitro and in vivo, but no obvious difference was observed in the levels of modified and native MOMP mRNA expression. The immunogenicity of the 2 constructs was examined using BALB/c mice following intramuscular immunization. The results showed that the mice immunized with the human-optimized MOMP produced higher levels of antigen-specific IgG antibody and showed stronger delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions and proliferative T cell responses than those immunized with the wild-type MOMP. Antigen-specific stimulation of spleen cells obtained from human MOMP DNA immunized mice produced higher levels of interferon-gamma than those obtained from wild-type MOMP DNA immunized mice. Taken together, the data show that human-optimized codon optimization can significantly enhance the gene expression and immunogenicity of the C. trachomatis MOMP DNA vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zheng
- Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, PR China
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35
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Döşkaya M, Kalantari-Dehaghi M, Walsh CM, Hiszczyńska-Sawicka E, Davies DH, Felgner PL, Larsen LSZ, Lathrop RH, Hatfield GW, Schulz JR, Gürüz Y, Jurnak F. GRA1 protein vaccine confers better immune response compared to codon-optimized GRA1 DNA vaccine. Vaccine 2007; 25:1824-37. [PMID: 17234306 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.10.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2006] [Revised: 10/26/2006] [Accepted: 10/30/2006] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The present study evaluates immunogenicity and protection potency of a codon-optimized GRA1 DNA vaccine, wild type GRA1 DNA vaccine and an adjuvanted recombinant GRA1 protein vaccine candidate in BALB/c mice against lethal toxoplasmosis. Of the three GRA1 vaccines tested, the recombinant GRA1 protein vaccine results reveal significant increase in immune response and prolonged survival against acute toxoplasmosis compared to DNA vaccinations. Immune response and protection conferred by codon-optimized GRA1 DNA vaccine was slightly better than wild type GRA1 DNA vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mert Döşkaya
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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36
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Gach JS, Maurer M, Hahn R, Gasser B, Mattanovich D, Katinger H, Kunert R. High level expression of a promising anti-idiotypic antibody fragment vaccine against HIV-1 in Pichia pastoris. J Biotechnol 2007; 128:735-46. [PMID: 17270302 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2006.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2006] [Revised: 12/11/2006] [Accepted: 12/22/2006] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We have expressed the anti-idiotypic antibody 3H6 Fab directed against the HIV-1 broadly neutralising antibody 2F5 in methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The chimeric human/mouse Fab fragment was expressed under control of the inducible AOX1 promoter and secreted via the alpha mating factor leader of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Bioreactor experiments showed the ability of the recombinant P. pastoris clone to secrete up to 260 mg/L Fab fragment in the culture supernatant during a five days cultivation time. Codon optimisation of the Fab expression cassette gave no further improvement of specific productivity when comparing 12 clones of each construct. The subsequent purification of Fab containing supernatants was done by anion exchange and size-exclusion chromatography with a recovery resulting in 70% of the recombinant protein. For verification of the suitability of the expression system we characterised the expressed protein with respect to both, its specificity and binding affinity and could not detect any significant difference between products from yeast derived and the hybridoma derived product. Finally we tested the implicit requirement of the carbohydrate moiety in the H2 loop of the original 3H6 antibody by introducing an asparagine to alanine replacement and, in a second experiment, inhibition of N-glycosylation by tunicamycin treatment. Biochemical analysis confirmed that the N-glycosylation does not contribute to the binding properties of 3H6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes S Gach
- Institute of Applied Microbiology, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Muthgasse 18, A-1190 Vienna, Austria
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37
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Buffa V, Negri DRM, Leone P, Borghi M, Bona R, Michelini Z, Compagnoni D, Sgadari C, Ensoli B, Cara A. Evaluation of a Self-Inactivating Lentiviral Vector Expressing Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Gag for Induction of Specific Immune Responsesin Vitroandin Vivo. Viral Immunol 2006; 19:690-701. [PMID: 17201664 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2006.19.690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Humoral and cellular immune responses have been shown to play a fundamental role in controlling simian and/or simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SIV-SHIV) replication in infected macaques. Therefore, the appropriate induction of both compartments of the immune system should be elicited after immunization. In this context, viral vectors have been proven effective in inducing both humoral and cellular immune responses during immunization protocols after direct injection in vivo. Among them, recombinant self-inactivating lentiviral vectors represent a useful strategy for vaccine development because they efficiently transduce and express foreign genes into a wide variety of mammalian cells. Here we report on the development and evaluation of a self-inactivating HIV-based lentiviral vector expressing a codon-optimized SIV Gag sequence (TY2-SIVGagDX), which when used to transduce dendritic cells mediated in vitro expansion of Gag-specific T cells derived from an SHIV-infected cynomolgus monkey, as measured by interferon (IFN)-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) and (51)Cr release standard assays. To evaluate the ability to elicit specific immune responses in vivo, TY2-SIVGagDX was also employed in a vaccination protocol after a single intramuscular injection in BALB/c mice. Results indicated that the vector was able to efficiently induce both cellular and humoral responses, as measured by IFN-gamma ELISPOT assay and antibody production. These data further confirm that lentiviral vectors encoding viral genes represent an advantageous delivery system for vaccine development.
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MESH Headings
- AIDS Vaccines/immunology
- Animals
- Antibodies, Viral/blood
- Antibodies, Viral/immunology
- Antibody Specificity
- Cell Line
- Dendritic Cells/immunology
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
- Female
- Gene Products, gag/genetics
- Gene Products, gag/immunology
- Genetic Vectors
- HIV/genetics
- Immunization
- Injections, Intramuscular
- Interferon-gamma/biosynthesis
- Lentivirus/genetics
- Leukocytes, Mononuclear
- Macaca fascicularis
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis
- Recombinant Proteins/immunology
- Simian Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/immunology
- Simian Immunodeficiency Virus/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- Transduction, Genetic
- Vaccines, Synthetic/administration & dosage
- Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology
- Viral Vaccines/administration & dosage
- Viral Vaccines/immunology
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Buffa
- National AIDS Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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38
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Wang S, Taaffe J, Parker C, Solórzano A, Cao H, García-Sastre A, Lu S. Hemagglutinin (HA) proteins from H1 and H3 serotypes of influenza A viruses require different antigen designs for the induction of optimal protective antibody responses as studied by codon-optimized HA DNA vaccines. J Virol 2006; 80:11628-37. [PMID: 16987975 PMCID: PMC1642598 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.01065-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective antibody responses provide crucial immunity against influenza virus infection. The hemagglutinin (HA) protein is the major target of protective antibody responses induced by viral infection and by vaccination with both inactivated and live-attenuated flu vaccines, but knowledge about the optimal designs of protective HA antigens from different flu serotypes is still limited. In this study, we have significantly improved the immunogenicity of HA-expressing DNA vaccines by using codon-optimized HA sequences for either an H1 serotype (A/NewCal/20/99) or an H3 serotype (A/Panama/2007/99) human influenza A virus and then used these constructs as model antigens to identify the optimal HA antigen designs to elicit high-level protective antibody responses. Two forms of HA antigen, a wild-type, full-length HA and a secreted form with transmembrane (TM) domain-truncated HA, were produced. Both forms of HA DNA vaccines, from either H1 or H3 serotypes, were able to elicit high levels of HA-specific immunoglobulin G responses in immunized rabbits as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Interestingly, the abilities of H1 HA and H3 HA antigens to elicit hemagglutination inhibition (HI) and neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses differ. For the H1 HA antigens, the full-length HA induced significantly higher HI and NAb responses than did the TM-truncated HA. For the H3 HA antigen, both the full-length HA and TM-truncated HA induced high levels of HI and NAb responses. These data indicate that H1 and H3 antigens have different expression requirements for the induction of an optimal protective antibody response and that the structure integrity of HA antigens is critical for eliciting type-specific protective antibody responses. Our findings will have an important impact on future subunit-based flu vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shixia Wang
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Lazare Research Building, Worcester, MA 01605-2397, USA
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39
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Buffa V, Negri DRM, Leone P, Bona R, Borghi M, Bacigalupo I, Carlei D, Sgadari C, Ensoli B, Cara A. A single administration of lentiviral vectors expressing either full-length human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1)HXB2 Rev/Env or codon-optimized HIV-1JR-FL gp120 generates durable immune responses in mice. J Gen Virol 2006; 87:1625-1634. [PMID: 16690927 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.81706-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic immunization using viral vectors provides an effective means to elicit antigen-specific cellular immune responses. Several viral vectors have proven efficacious in inducing immune responses after direct injection in vivo. Among them, recombinant, self-inactivating lentiviral vectors are very attractive delivery systems, as they are able to efficiently transduce into and express foreign genes in a wide variety of mammalian cells. A self-inactivating lentiviral vector was evaluated for the delivery of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) envelope sequences in mice in order to elicit specific immune responses. With this aim, BALB/c mice were immunized with a single injection of self-inactivating lentiviral vectors carrying either the full-length HIV-1HXB2 Rev/Env (TY2-IIIBEnv) or the codon-optimized HIV-1JR-FL gp120 (TY2-JREnv) coding sequence. Both vectors were able to elicit specific cellular responses efficiently, as measured by gamma interferon ELISPOT and chromium-release assays, upon in vitro stimulation of splenocytes from BALB/c immunized mice. However, only the TY2-JREnv-immunized mice were able to elicit specific humoral responses, measured as anti-gp120 antibody production. These data provide the first evidence that a single, direct, in vivo administration of a lentiviral vector encoding a viral gene might represent a useful strategy for vaccine development.
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MESH Headings
- AIDS Vaccines/administration & dosage
- AIDS Vaccines/genetics
- AIDS Vaccines/immunology
- Animals
- Codon
- Female
- Gene Products, env/genetics
- Gene Products, env/immunology
- Gene Products, env/metabolism
- Gene Products, rev/genetics
- Gene Products, rev/immunology
- Gene Products, rev/metabolism
- Genes, env
- Genes, rev
- Genetic Vectors/administration & dosage
- Genetic Vectors/genetics
- Genetic Vectors/immunology
- HIV Antibodies/blood
- HIV Envelope Protein gp120/genetics
- HIV Envelope Protein gp120/immunology
- HIV Envelope Protein gp120/metabolism
- HIV Infections/prevention & control
- HIV-1/immunology
- Humans
- Immunization
- Injections, Intramuscular
- Interferon-gamma/metabolism
- Lentivirus/genetics
- Lentivirus/immunology
- Lentivirus/metabolism
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- T-Lymphocytes/immunology
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
- rev Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Buffa
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Donatella R M Negri
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Pasqualina Leone
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Roberta Bona
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Borghi
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Ilaria Bacigalupo
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Davide Carlei
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Cecilia Sgadari
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Barbara Ensoli
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Andrea Cara
- National AIDS Center, Department of Drugs and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy
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40
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Kudla G, Lipinski L, Caffin F, Helwak A, Zylicz M. High guanine and cytosine content increases mRNA levels in mammalian cells. PLoS Biol 2006; 4:e180. [PMID: 16700628 PMCID: PMC1463026 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 305] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2005] [Accepted: 03/29/2006] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian genes are highly heterogeneous with respect to their nucleotide composition, but the functional consequences of this heterogeneity are not clear. In the previous studies, weak positive or negative correlations have been found between the silent-site guanine and cytosine (GC) content and expression of mammalian genes. However, previous studies disregarded differences in the genomic context of genes, which could potentially obscure any correlation between GC content and expression. In the present work, we directly compared the expression of GC-rich and GC-poor genes placed in the context of identical promoters and UTR sequences. We performed transient and stable transfections of mammalian cells with GC-rich and GC-poor versions of Hsp70, green fluorescent protein, and IL2 genes. The GC-rich genes were expressed several-fold to over a 100-fold more efficiently than their GC-poor counterparts. This effect was not due to different translation rates of GC-rich and GC-poor mRNA. On the contrary, the efficient expression of GC-rich genes resulted from their increased steady-state mRNA levels. mRNA degradation rates were not correlated with GC content, suggesting that efficient transcription or mRNA processing is responsible for the high expression of GC-rich genes. We conclude that silent-site GC content correlates with gene expression efficiency in mammalian cells. The effect of nucleotide composition on gene transcription is investigated for Hsp70, GFP, and IL-2, which all show increased expression to correlate with increased GC content at codon position 3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grzegorz Kudla
- International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw, Poland.
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41
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Drape RJ, Macklin MD, Barr LJ, Jones S, Haynes JR, Dean HJ. Epidermal DNA vaccine for influenza is immunogenic in humans. Vaccine 2006; 24:4475-81. [PMID: 16150518 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2005.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A phase I clinical trial was conducted to evaluate a monovalent influenza DNA vaccine containing the HA gene from A/Panama/2007/99 delivered by particle-mediated epidermal delivery (PMED). Three groups of 12 healthy adult subjects received a single dose on day 0 of either 1, 2 or 4 microg of DNA vaccine, delivered as 1, 2 or 4 PMED administrations. The PMED influenza DNA vaccine elicited serum hemagglutination-inhibition (HAI) antibody responses at all three dose levels, with the highest and most consistent responses in subjects vaccinated with the highest dose level. Antibody responses were greatest at the last time point tested, day 56. Treatment-related reactions were mild to moderate, and included skin reactions at the vaccine site. These results provide a preliminary indication of the safety and immunogenicity of a prototype epidermal DNA vaccine for influenza.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Drape
- PowderJect Vaccines, Inc., 8551 Research Way, Middleton, WI 53562, USA
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42
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Talaat AM, Stemke-Hale K. Expression library immunization: a road map for discovery of vaccines against infectious diseases. Infect Immun 2005; 73:7089-98. [PMID: 16239502 PMCID: PMC1273844 DOI: 10.1128/iai.73.11.7089-7098.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Adel M Talaat
- Department of Animal Health and Biomedical Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1656 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706-1581, USA.
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43
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Ko HJ, Ko SY, Kim YJ, Lee EG, Cho SN, Kang CY. Optimization of codon usage enhances the immunogenicity of a DNA vaccine encoding mycobacterial antigen Ag85B. Infect Immun 2005; 73:5666-74. [PMID: 16113284 PMCID: PMC1231050 DOI: 10.1128/iai.73.9.5666-5674.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In spite of its many other benefits, DNA vaccine is limited in its application by its insufficient immunogenicity. One promising approach for enhancing its immunogenicity is to maximize its expression in the immunized host. In the current study, we investigated whether codon optimization of the mycobacterial antigen Ag85B gene could enhance the expression and immunogenicity of the Ag85B DNA vaccine. We generated a synthetic humanized Ag85B (hAg85B) gene in which codon usage was optimized for expression in human cells. DNA plasmids with codon-optimized hAg85B increased the level of protein expression in vitro and in vivo. DNA vaccine with hAg85B induced stronger Th1-like and cytotoxic T-cell immune responses in BALB/c mice and generated higher protective immunity in a BALB/c mouse model of Mycobacterium tuberculosis aerosol infection than did the DNA vaccine with wild-type Ag85B. Therefore, our results suggest that codon optimization of mycobacterial antigens (e.g., Ag85B) could improve protein expression and thereby enhance the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines against M. tuberculosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Jeong Ko
- Laboratory of Immunology and Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Shillim-Dong, Kwanak-Gu, Seoul, 151-742, Republic of Korea
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44
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Ruiz LM, Armengol G, Habeych E, Orduz S. A theoretical analysis of codon adaptation index of the Boophilus microplus bm86 gene directed to the optimization of a DNA vaccine. J Theor Biol 2005; 239:445-9. [PMID: 16171828 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2005.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2005] [Revised: 08/08/2005] [Accepted: 08/09/2005] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
DNA vaccines utilize host cell molecules for gene transcription and translation to proteins, and the interspecific difference of codon usage is one of the major obstacles for effective induction of specific and strong immune response. In an attempt to improve codon usage effects of DNA vaccine on protein expression, a quantitative study was conducted to clarify the relationship of codon usage in the tick gene bm86 and its potential expression in bovine cells. The calculated relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) and codon adaptation index (CAI) values of bm86 from Boophilus microplus and a set of 14 highly expressed genes from Bos taurus indicated that some codons utilized frequently in bm86 are rarely used in B. taurus genes and vice versa. The different translational efficiencies obtained suggested that after DNA vaccination using the wild bm86 gene, the protein Bm86 would be expressed in bovines, but it would not be the optimum sequence. However, using the codon-optimized bm86 gene to bovines, whose sequence was theoretically designed, would probably improve the level of the immune response generated against ticks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lina María Ruiz
- Unidad de Biotecnología y Control Biológico, Corporación para Investigaciones Biológicas, Apartado Aéreo 7378, Carrera 72A #78B-141, Medellín, Colombia
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45
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Vazquez-Juarez RC, Gomez-Chiarri M, Barrera-Saldaña H, Hernandez-Saavedra N, Dumas S, Ascencio F. Evaluation of DNA vaccination of spotted sand bass (Paralabrax maculatofasciatus) with two major outer-membrane protein-encoding genes from Aeromonas veronii. FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY 2005; 19:153-63. [PMID: 15752654 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2004.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2004] [Revised: 10/06/2004] [Accepted: 12/17/2004] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Genes encoding two major outer membrane proteins (OMPs) of the bacterial pathogen Aeromonas veronii, Omp38 and Omp48, were used to construct DNA vaccines. The protective effect of such vaccines against motile aeromonad septicaemia was evaluated in spotted sand bass (Paralabrax maculatofasciatus), an endemic species of the Mexican Northwest Pacific coast and a potential resource for the aquaculture industry. Weak protein expression, as determined by immunoblotting, was observed after transfection of eukaryotic cells with the DNA vaccines. Fish immunized with a single intramuscular injection of 20 microg of the omp38 and omp48 DNA vaccines showed slightly, but significantly elevated serum antibody levels 4 and 6 weeks after vaccination, compared to fish vaccinated with the control plasmid pcDNA3.1. Spotted sand bass vaccinated with the omp38 and omp48 DNA vaccines and challenged with A. veronii by intraperitoneal route recorded a relative percent survival (RPS) between 50 and 60%. Histopathological signs of motile aeromonad septicaemia were observed in around 40% of omp38 and omp48-vaccinated fish and 80% of pcDNA3.1-vaccinated control fish. The results indicate that P. maculatofasciatus vaccinated with a single dose of DNA plasmids encoding the major OMPs from A. veronii shows partial protection against infection and mortality by A. veronii experimental infection.
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46
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Stemke-Hale K, Kaltenboeck B, DeGraves FJ, Sykes KF, Huang J, Bu CH, Johnston SA. Screening the whole genome of a pathogen in vivo for individual protective antigens. Vaccine 2005; 23:3016-25. [PMID: 15811648 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2004.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2004] [Revised: 12/01/2004] [Accepted: 12/02/2004] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We report the results of a general protocol that was used to screen the whole genome of Chlamydophila abortus, type strain B577 (formerly Chlamydia psittaci strain B577), in a mouse pneumonia model. Genetic immunization was used to functionally test the genes of C. abortus as vaccines in a mouse challenge system. Nine gene fragments were isolated that conferred protection, with five protecting as effectively as the live-vaccine positive control. Bioinformatics approaches were unable to reconstruct isolation of these antigens. These results suggest that pathogen genomes can be functionally screened for vaccine candidate antigens in a mouse model to reveal new classes of vaccine candidate antigens that may have therapeutic efficacy across host species, disease manifestations, and delivery platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Stemke-Hale
- Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, Center for Biomedical Inventions, University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390-8573, USA
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47
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Hartl A, Weiss R, Hochreiter R, Scheiblhofer S, Thalhamer J. DNA vaccines for allergy treatment. Methods 2004; 32:328-39. [PMID: 14962768 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2003.08.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/21/2003] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past 10 years, a great number of studies have demonstrated that injection of plasmid DNA coding for certain genes results in the induction of humoral and cellular immune responses against the respective gene product. This vaccination approach covers a broad range of possible applications, including the induction of protective immunity against viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections, and it opens new perspectives for treatment of cancer. Surprisingly, DNA immunization also turned out as a promising novel type of immunotherapy against allergy. In this paper, we describe the construction of DNA vaccines for application in allergy models. Beyond, we offer a palette of recently developed modulations to optimize DNA vaccines for allergy treatment by increasing their immunogenicity and minimizing their anaphylactic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnulf Hartl
- University of Salzburg, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Immunology Group, Hellbrunnerstr. 34, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria
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48
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Manoj S, Babiuk LA, van Drunen Littel-van den Hurk S. Approaches to enhance the efficacy of DNA vaccines. Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci 2004; 41:1-39. [PMID: 15077722 DOI: 10.1080/10408360490269251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
DNA vaccines consist of antigen-encoding bacterial plasmids that are capable of inducing antigen-specific immune responses upon inoculation into a host. This method of immunization is advantageous in terms of simplicity, adaptability, and cost of vaccine production. However, the entry of DNA vaccines and expression of antigen are subjected to physical and biochemical barriers imposed by the host. In small animals such as mice, the host-imposed impediments have not prevented DNA vaccines from inducing long-lasting, protective humoral, and cellular immune responses. In contrast, these barriers appear to be more difficult to overcome in large animals and humans. The focus of this article is to summarize the limitations of DNA vaccines and to provide a comprehensive review on the different strategies developed to enhance the efficacy of DNA vaccines. Several of these strategies, such as altering codon bias of the encoded gene, changing the cellular localization of the expressed antigen, and optimizing delivery and formulation of the plasmid, have led to improvements in DNA vaccine efficacy in large animals. However, solutions for increasing the amount of plasmid that eventually enters the nucleus and is available for transcription of the transgene still need to be found. The overall conclusions from these studies suggest that, provided these critical improvements are made, DNA vaccines may find important clinical and practical applications in the field of vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharmila Manoj
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
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49
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Ramakrishna L, Anand KK, Mohankumar KM, Ranga U. Codon optimization of the tat antigen of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 generates strong immune responses in mice following genetic immunization. J Virol 2004; 78:9174-89. [PMID: 15308713 PMCID: PMC506957 DOI: 10.1128/jvi.78.17.9174-9189.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA vaccines have been successful in eliciting potent immune responses in mice. Their efficiency, however, is restricted in larger animals. One reason for the limited performance of the DNA vaccines is the lack of molecular strategies to enhance immune responses. Additionally, genes directly cloned from pathogenic organisms may not be efficiently translated in a heterologous host expression system as a consequence of codon bias. To evaluate the influence of codon optimization on the immune response, we elected to use the Tat antigens of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) (subtype C) and HIV-2, as these viral antigens are poorly immunogenic in natural infection and in experimental immunization and they are functionally important in viral infectivity and pathogenesis. Substituting codons that are optimally used in the mammalian system, we synthetically assembled Tat genes and compared them with the wild-type counterparts in two different mouse strains. Codon-optimized Tat genes induced qualitatively and quantitatively superior immune responses as measured in a T-cell proliferation assay, enzyme-linked immunospot assay, and chromium release assay. Importantly, while the wild-type genes promoted a mixed Th1-Th2-type cytokine profile, the codon-optimized genes induced a predominantly Th1 profile. Using a pepscan strategy, we mapped an immunodominant T-helper epitope to the core and basic domains of HIV-1 Tat. We also identified cross-clade immune responses between HIV-1 subtype B and C Tat proteins mapped to this T-helper epitope. Developing molecular strategies to optimize the immunogenicity of DNA vaccines is critical for inducing strong immune responses, especially to antigens like Tat. Our identification of a highly conserved T-helper epitope in the first exon of HIV-1 Tat of subtype C and the demonstration of a cross-clade immune response between subtypes B and C are important for a more rational design of an HIV vaccine.
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MESH Headings
- AIDS Vaccines/genetics
- AIDS Vaccines/immunology
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Cell Division
- Codon/genetics
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/chemistry
- Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte/immunology
- Gene Products, tat/biosynthesis
- Gene Products, tat/chemistry
- Gene Products, tat/genetics
- Gene Products, tat/immunology
- Genes, Viral/genetics
- Genetic Vectors/genetics
- HIV Antibodies/analysis
- HIV Antigens/biosynthesis
- HIV Antigens/chemistry
- HIV Antigens/genetics
- HIV Antigens/immunology
- HIV-1/classification
- HIV-1/genetics
- HIV-1/immunology
- Immunization
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Mice, Inbred C57BL
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Protein Biosynthesis
- T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic/immunology
- Th1 Cells/immunology
- Transcription, Genetic/genetics
- Vaccines, DNA/genetics
- Vaccines, DNA/immunology
- tat Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus
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Affiliation(s)
- Lakshmi Ramakrishna
- Molecular Virology Laboratory, Molecular Biology and Genetics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Jakkur, Bangalore, India
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50
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Nagata T, Aoshi T, Uchijima M, Suzuki M, Koide Y. Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte-, and Helper T-Lymphocyte-Oriented DNA Vaccination. DNA Cell Biol 2004; 23:93-106. [PMID: 15000749 DOI: 10.1089/104454904322759902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA vaccines have advantages over other types of vaccines in that they can induce strong cellular immune responses, namely cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and helper T lymphocytes (Th). DNA vaccines are therefore considered a promising alternative to attenuated live vaccines in the field of infectious diseases. So far, various DNA vaccines have been generated and tried to induce a particular cellular immune response by virtue of recombinant DNA technology. DNA vaccines have been designed for efficient transcription and translation of target genes by a variety of strategies. Also, various DNA vaccine strategies for induction of specific CTL and Th have been reported by taking into consideration antigen presentation pathways and the strategies have been shown to be effective to elicit particular T-cell responses. In this paper, we have reviewed these strategies, including our study on epitope-specific T-cell induction by DNA vaccination against Listeria monocytogenes infection. From this review, it has been surmised that, to induce strong immune responses by DNA vaccines, the immunization route and the immunization regimen, such as heterologous "prime-boost" regimen, should also be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshi Nagata
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan.
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