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Ngoepe TA, Pretorius A, Steyn HC, Van Kleef M. Th1 and Th2 epitopes of Cowdria polymorphic gene 1 of Ehrlichia ruminantium. Onderstepoort J Vet Res 2023; 90:e1-e15. [PMID: 37042556 PMCID: PMC10091069 DOI: 10.4102/ojvr.v90i1.2070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Cowdria polymorphic gene 1 (cpg1, Erum2510, ERUM_RS01380) has been shown to induce 30% and 100% protection in sheep immunised by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) prime combined with DNA boost and DNA prime combined with protein boost, respectively, against heartwater infection via needle challenge. To localise its antigenic regions for inclusion in a multi-epitope DNA vaccine against heartwater, Erum2510 was cleaved into five overlapping subfragments. These subfragments were expressed individually in an Escherichia coli host expression system and evaluated for their ability to induce proliferative responses, Th1 and Th2 cytokines (interferon gamma [IFN-γ] and interleukin 4 [IL-4]) via enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISpot), quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and flow cytometry. Recombinant (r)proteins 3 and 4 were shown to induce immunodominant Th1 and Th2 immune responses characterised by the secretion of effector cytokines IFN-γ and IL-4 in addition to differential messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF), IL-2, IL-1, IL-18, IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). Thirty-seven overlapping synthetic peptides (16 mer) spanning the lengths of these immunodominant rproteins were synthesised and assayed. A peptide pool comprising p9 and p10 derived from rprotein 3 induced a Th1-biased immune response. A peptide pool comprising p28 and p29 derived from rprotein 4 induced a mixed Th1 and Th2 immune response characterised by secretion of IFN-γ and differential mRNA expression of IL-1, IL-2, IL-10, IL-12, iNOS, TGF, TNF and GM-CSF. Only one of the peptides (p29) induced secretion of IL-4. Phenotypic analysis showed significant activation of cluster of differentiation 8+ (CD8+), cluster of differentiation 4+ (CD4+) and B+ lymphocyte populations. Findings suggest that Erum2510 rproteins and synthetic peptides can induce both cellular and humoral immune responses, thereby implicating their importance in protection against heartwater.Contribution: This study will facilitate the design of an effective multi-epitope DNA vaccine against heartwater that will contribute to control this economically important disease in sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tlou A Ngoepe
- Department of Immunology, Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Pretoria, South Africa; and, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; and, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria,.
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Rawal K, Sinha R, Nath SK, Preeti P, Kumari P, Gupta S, Sharma T, Strych U, Hotez P, Bottazzi ME. Vaxi-DL: A web-based deep learning server to identify potential vaccine candidates. Comput Biol Med 2022; 145:105401. [PMID: 35381451 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The development of a new vaccine is a challenging exercise involving several steps including computational studies, experimental work, and animal studies followed by clinical studies. To accelerate the process, in silico screening is frequently used for antigen identification. Here, we present Vaxi-DL, web-based deep learning (DL) software that evaluates the potential of protein sequences to serve as vaccine target antigens. Four different DL pathogen models were trained to predict target antigens in bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and viruses that cause infectious diseases in humans. Datasets containing antigenic and non-antigenic sequences were derived from known vaccine candidates and the Protegen database. Biological and physicochemical properties were computed for the datasets using publicly available bioinformatics tools. For each of the four pathogen models, the datasets were divided into training, validation, and testing subsets and then scaled and normalised. The models were constructed using Fully Connected Layers (FCLs), hyper-tuned, and trained using the training subset. Accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, precision, recall, and AUC (Area under the Curve) were used as metrics to assess the performance of these models. The models were benchmarked using independent datasets of known target antigens against other prediction tools such as VaxiJen and Vaxign-ML. We also tested Vaxi-DL on 219 known potential vaccine candidates (PVC) from 37 different pathogens. Our tool predicted 175 PVCs correctly out of 219 sequences. We also tested Vaxi-DL on different datasets obtained from multiple resources. Our tool has demonstrated an average sensitivity of 93% and will thus be a useful tool for prioritising PVCs for preclinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamal Rawal
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Robin Sinha
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | | | - P Preeti
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Priya Kumari
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Srijanee Gupta
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Trapti Sharma
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, India.
| | - Ulrich Strych
- Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Peter Hotez
- Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
| | - Maria Elena Bottazzi
- Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA.
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3
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Ismail N, Sharma A, Soong L, Walker DH. Review: Protective Immunity and Immunopathology of Ehrlichiosis. ZOONOSES (BURLINGTON, MASS.) 2022; 2:10.15212/zoonoses-2022-0009. [PMID: 35876763 PMCID: PMC9300479 DOI: 10.15212/zoonoses-2022-0009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Human monocytic ehrlichiosis, a tick transmitted infection, ranges in severity from apparently subclinical to a fatal toxic shock-like fatal disease. Models in immunocompetent mice range from an abortive infection to uniformly lethal depending on the infecting Ehrlichia species, dose of inoculum, and route of inoculation. Effective immunity is mediated by CD4+ T lymphocytes and gamma interferon. Lethal infection occurs with early overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines and overproduction of TNF alpha and IL-10 by CD8+ T lymphocytes. Furthermore, fatal ehrlichiosis is associated with signaling via TLR 9/MyD88 with upregulation of several inflammasome complexes and secretion of IL-1 beta, IL-1 alpha, and IL-18 by hepatic mononuclear cells, suggesting activation of canonical and noncanonical inflammasome pathways, a deleterious role for IL-18, and the protective role for caspase 1. Autophagy promotes ehrlichial infection, and MyD88 signaling hinders ehrlichial infection by inhibiting autophagy induction and flux. Activation of caspase 11 during infection of hepatocytes by the lethal ehrlichial species after interferon alpha receptor signaling results in the production of inflammasome-dependent IL-1 beta, extracellular secretion of HMGB1, and pyroptosis. The high level of HMGB1 in lethal ehrlichiosis suggests a role in toxic shock. Studies of primary bone marrow-derived macrophages infected by highly avirulent or mildly avirulent ehrlichiae reveal divergent M1 and M2 macrophage polarization that links with generation of pathogenic CD8 T cells, neutrophils, and excessive inflammation or with strong expansion of protective Th1 and NKT cells, resolution of inflammation and clearance of infection, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nahed Ismail
- Clinical Microbiology, Laboratory Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medicine, University of Illinois Hospitals & Health Science System, Chicago, IL
| | - Aditya Sharma
- Clinical Microbiology, Laboratory Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago-College of Medicine, University of Illinois Hospitals & Health Science System, Chicago, IL
| | - Lynn Soong
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
- Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense & Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
| | - David H. Walker
- Department of Pathology, Center for Biodefense & Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
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Rawal K, Sinha R, Abbasi BA, Chaudhary A, Nath SK, Kumari P, Preeti P, Saraf D, Singh S, Mishra K, Gupta P, Mishra A, Sharma T, Gupta S, Singh P, Sood S, Subramani P, Dubey AK, Strych U, Hotez PJ, Bottazzi ME. Identification of vaccine targets in pathogens and design of a vaccine using computational approaches. Sci Rep 2021; 11:17626. [PMID: 34475453 PMCID: PMC8413327 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96863-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Antigen identification is an important step in the vaccine development process. Computational approaches including deep learning systems can play an important role in the identification of vaccine targets using genomic and proteomic information. Here, we present a new computational system to discover and analyse novel vaccine targets leading to the design of a multi-epitope subunit vaccine candidate. The system incorporates reverse vaccinology and immuno-informatics tools to screen genomic and proteomic datasets of several pathogens such as Trypanosoma cruzi, Plasmodium falciparum, and Vibrio cholerae to identify potential vaccine candidates (PVC). Further, as a case study, we performed a detailed analysis of the genomic and proteomic dataset of T. cruzi (CL Brenner and Y strain) to shortlist eight proteins as possible vaccine antigen candidates using properties such as secretory/surface-exposed nature, low transmembrane helix (< 2), essentiality, virulence, antigenic, and non-homology with host/gut flora proteins. Subsequently, highly antigenic and immunogenic MHC class I, MHC class II and B cell epitopes were extracted from top-ranking vaccine targets. The designed vaccine construct containing 24 epitopes, 3 adjuvants, and 4 linkers was analysed for its physicochemical properties using different tools, including docking analysis. Immunological simulation studies suggested significant levels of T-helper, T-cytotoxic cells, and IgG1 will be elicited upon administration of such a putative multi-epitope vaccine construct. The vaccine construct is predicted to be soluble, stable, non-allergenic, non-toxic, and to offer cross-protection against related Trypanosoma species and strains. Further, studies are required to validate safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamal Rawal
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India.
| | - Robin Sinha
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Bilal Ahmed Abbasi
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Amit Chaudhary
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Swarsat Kaushik Nath
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Priya Kumari
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - P Preeti
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Devansh Saraf
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Shachee Singh
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Kartik Mishra
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Pranjay Gupta
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Astha Mishra
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Trapti Sharma
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Srijanee Gupta
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Prashant Singh
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Shriya Sood
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Preeti Subramani
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Aman Kumar Dubey
- Centre for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida, India
| | - Ulrich Strych
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Peter J Hotez
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - Maria Elena Bottazzi
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology and Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
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5
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Tjale MA, Liebenberg J, Steyn H, Van Kleef M, Pretorius A. Transcriptome analysis of Ehrlichia ruminantium in the ruminant host at the tick bite site and in the tick vector salivary glands. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2020; 12:101646. [PMID: 33508537 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/19/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Heartwater is a non-contagious tick-borne disease of domestic and wild ruminants. Data regarding the complex processes involved during pathogen-vector-host interaction during Ehrlichia ruminantium infection is lacking and could be improved with knowledge associated with gene expression changes in both the pathogen and the host. Thus, in the current study, we aimed to identify E. ruminantium genes that are up-regulated when the pathogen enters the host and before the disease is established. Identification of such genes/proteins may aid in future vaccine development strategies against heartwater. RNA-sequencing was used to identify E. ruminantium genes that were exclusively expressed at the tick bite site in sheep skin biopsies (SB) and in adult tick salivary glands (SG). RNA was extracted from pooled samples of the SB or SG collected at different time points during tick attachment and prior to disease manifestation. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) was removed and the samples were sequenced. Several E. ruminantium genes were highly expressed in all the samples while others were exclusively expressed in each. It was concluded that E. ruminantium genes that were exclusively expressed in the SB or both SB and SG when compared to the transcriptome datasets from bovine elementary bodies (BovEBs) from cell culture may be considered as early antigenic targets of host immunity. In silico immunogenic epitope prediction analysis and preliminary characterization of selected genes in vitro using ELIspot assay showed that they could possibly be ideal targets for future vaccine development against heartwater, however, further epitope characterization is still required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mabotse A Tjale
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
| | - Junita Liebenberg
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Helena Steyn
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Mirinda Van Kleef
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Alri Pretorius
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
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6
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Thema N, Tshilwane S, Pretorius A, Son L, Smith R, Steyn H, Liebenberg J, van Kleef M. Identification and characterisation of conserved epitopes of E. ruminantium that activate Th1 CD4+ T cells: Towards the development of a multi-epitope vaccine. Mol Immunol 2019; 107:106-114. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2018.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 11/06/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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7
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Thema N, Tshilwane S, Son L, Smith R, Faber F, Steyn H, van Kleef M, Liebenberg J, Pretorius A. Ehrlichia ruminantium antigens and peptides induce cytotoxic T cell responses in vitro. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2019; 207:1-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vetimm.2018.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2018] [Revised: 10/25/2018] [Accepted: 11/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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8
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Bragazzi NL, Gianfredi V, Villarini M, Rosselli R, Nasr A, Hussein A, Martini M, Behzadifar M. Vaccines Meet Big Data: State-of-the-Art and Future Prospects. From the Classical 3Is ("Isolate-Inactivate-Inject") Vaccinology 1.0 to Vaccinology 3.0, Vaccinomics, and Beyond: A Historical Overview. Front Public Health 2018; 6:62. [PMID: 29556492 PMCID: PMC5845111 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Vaccines are public health interventions aimed at preventing infections-related mortality, morbidity, and disability. While vaccines have been successfully designed for those infectious diseases preventable by preexisting neutralizing specific antibodies, for other communicable diseases, additional immunological mechanisms should be elicited to achieve a full protection. “New vaccines” are particularly urgent in the nowadays society, in which economic growth, globalization, and immigration are leading to the emergence/reemergence of old and new infectious agents at the animal–human interface. Conventional vaccinology (the so-called “vaccinology 1.0”) was officially born in 1796 thanks to the contribution of Edward Jenner. Entering the twenty-first century, vaccinology has shifted from a classical discipline in which serendipity and the Pasteurian principle of the three Is (isolate, inactivate, and inject) played a major role to a science, characterized by a rational design and plan (“vaccinology 3.0”). This shift has been possible thanks to Big Data, characterized by different dimensions, such as high volume, velocity, and variety of data. Big Data sources include new cutting-edge, high-throughput technologies, electronic registries, social media, and social networks, among others. The current mini-review aims at exploring the potential roles as well as pitfalls and challenges of Big Data in shaping the future vaccinology, moving toward a tailored and personalized vaccine design and administration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
- Department of Health Sciences (DISSAL), School of Public Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Vincenza Gianfredi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Unit of Public Health, School of Specialization in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Milena Villarini
- Unit of Public Health, Department of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | | | - Ahmed Nasr
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Pathology University Milan Bicocca, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy
| | - Amr Hussein
- Medical Faculty, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Mariano Martini
- Section of History of Medicine and Ethics, Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Masoud Behzadifar
- Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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9
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Nefefe T, Liebenberg J, van Kleef M, Steyn HC, Pretorius A. Innate immune transcriptomic evaluation of PBMC isolated from sheep after infection with E. ruminantium Welgevonden strain. Mol Immunol 2017; 91:238-248. [PMID: 28988038 DOI: 10.1016/j.molimm.2017.09.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2017] [Revised: 08/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Heartwater is a tick-borne non-infectious fatal disease of wild and domestic ruminants caused by the bacterium Ehrlichia ruminantium, transmitted by Amblyomma ticks. Although there is evidence that interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) controls E. ruminantium growth and that cellular immune responses could be protective, an effective recombinant vaccine for this disease is lacking. An overall analysis of which immune pathways are up- or down-regulated in sheep peripheral blood mononuclear cells is expected to lead to a better understanding of the global immune response of sheep to E. ruminantium infection. Therefore, a systems biology oriented approach following the infection with E. ruminantium was investigated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells to aid recombinant vaccine development. In this study, heartwater naïve sheep were infected and challenged by allowing E. ruminantium infected ticks to feed on them. After primary infection, all the animals were treated with antibiotic during the resulting febrile response. Blood was collected daily for E. ruminantium detection by qPCR (pCS20 assay). The pCS20 assay only detected the pathogen in the blood one day prior to and during the febrile stage of infection confirming infection of the sheep. IFN-γ real-time PCR indicated that this cytokine was expressed at specific time points: post infection, during the febrile stage of the disease and after challenge. These were used as a guide to select samples for transcriptome sequencing. This paper focuses on transcripts that are associated with innate activating pathways that were identified to be up- and down-regulated after primary infection and the subsequent challenge. These included the CD14 monocyte marker, toll-like receptor (TLR), nod-like receptor, chemokine, cytosolic and cytokine-cytokine interaction receptor pathways. In particular, TLR4, TLR9 and CD14 were activated together with DNA detection pathways, suggesting that vaccine formulations may be improved if CpG motifs and lipopolysaccharides are included. This data indicates that innate immune activation, perhaps by using adjuvants, should be an important component for consideration during future heartwater recombinant vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Nefefe
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
| | - J Liebenberg
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - M van Kleef
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - H C Steyn
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - A Pretorius
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
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10
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Tjale MA, Pretorius A, Josemans A, Kleef MV, Liebenberg J. Transcriptomic analysis of Ehrlichia ruminantium during the developmental stages in bovine and tick cell culture. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2017; 9:126-134. [PMID: 29017825 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2017.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Revised: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The use of bioinformatics tools to search for possible vaccine candidates has been successful in recent years. In an attempt to search for additional vaccine candidates or improve the current heartwater vaccine design, a genome-wide transcriptional profile of E. ruminantium (Welgevonden strain) replicating in bovine endothelial cells (BA886) and Ixodes scapularis embryonic tick cells (IDE8) was performed. The RNA was collected from the infective extracellular form, the elementary bodies (EBs) and vegetative intracellular form, reticulate bodies (RBs) and was used for transcriptome sequencing. Several genes previously implicated with adhesion, attachment and pathogenicity were exclusively up-regulated in the EBs from bovine and tick cells. Similarly, genes involved in adaptation or survival of E. ruminantium in the host cells were up-regulated in the RBs from bovine cells. Thus, it was concluded that those genes expressed in the EBs might be important for infection of mammalian and tick host cells and these may be targets for both cell and humoral mediated immune responses. Alternatively, those exclusively expressed in the RBs may be important for survival in the host cells. Exported or secreted proteins exclusively expressed at this stage are ideal targets for the stimulation of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) immune responses in the host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mabotse A Tjale
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
| | - Alri Pretorius
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Antoinette Josemans
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Mirinda Van Kleef
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa
| | - Junita Liebenberg
- Agricultural Research Council - Onderstepoort Veterinary Research, Private Bag X5, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa.
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Vishnu US, Sankarasubramanian J, Gunasekaran P, Rajendhran J. Identification of potential antigens from non-classically secreted proteins and designing novel multitope peptide vaccine candidate against Brucella melitensis through reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics approach. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2017; 55:151-158. [PMID: 28919551 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2017.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Brucella melitensis is an intracellular pathogen resides in the professional and non-professional phagocytes of the host, causing zoonotic disease brucellosis. The stealthy nature of the Brucella makes it's highly pathogenic, and it is hard to eliminate the bacteria completely from the infected host. Hitherto, no licensed vaccines are available for human brucellosis. In this study, we identified potential antigens for vaccine development from non-classically secreted proteins through reverse vaccinology approach. Based on the systemic screening of non-classically secreted proteins of B. melitensis 16M, we identified nine proteins as potential vaccine candidates. Among these, Omp31 and Omp22 are known immunogens, and its role in the virulence of Brucella is known. Roles of other proteins in the pathogenesis are yet to be studied. From the nine proteins, we identified six novel antigenic epitopes that can elicit both B-cell and T-cell immune responses. Among the nine proteins, the epitopes were predicted from Omp31 immunogenic protein precursor, Omp22 protein precursor, extracellular serine protease, hypothetical membrane-associated protein, iron-regulated outer membrane protein FrpB. Further, we designed a multitope vaccine using Omp31 immunogenic protein precursor, Omp22 protein precursor, extra cellular serine protease, iron-regulated outer membrane protein FrpB, hypothetical membrane-associated protein, and LPS-assembly protein LptD and polysaccharide export protein identified in the previous study. Epitopes were joined using amino acid linkers such as EAAAK and GPGPG. Cholera toxin subunit B, the nontoxic part of cholera toxin, was used as an adjuvant and it was linked to the N-terminal of the multitope vaccine candidate. The designed vaccine candidate was modeled, validated and the physicochemical properties were analyzed. Results revealed that the vaccine candidate is soluble, stable, non-allergenic, antigenic and 87% of residues of the designed vaccine candidate is located in the favored region. In conclusion, the computational analysis showed that the newly designed multitope protein could be used to develop a promising vaccine for human brucellosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Udayakumar S Vishnu
- Department of Genetics, School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Jagadesan Sankarasubramanian
- Department of Genetics, School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, Tamil Nadu, India
| | | | - Jeyaprakash Rajendhran
- Department of Genetics, School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, Tamil Nadu, India.
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Kuleš J, Horvatić A, Guillemin N, Galan A, Mrljak V, Bhide M. New approaches and omics tools for mining of vaccine candidates against vector-borne diseases. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2017; 12:2680-94. [PMID: 27384976 DOI: 10.1039/c6mb00268d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) present a major threat to human and animal health, as well as place a substantial burden on livestock production. As a way of sustainable VBD control, focus is set on vaccine development. Advances in genomics and other "omics" over the past two decades have given rise to a "third generation" of vaccines based on technologies such as reverse vaccinology, functional genomics, immunomics, structural vaccinology and the systems biology approach. The application of omics approaches is shortening the time required to develop the vaccines and increasing the probability of discovery of potential vaccine candidates. Herein, we review the development of new generation vaccines for VBDs, and discuss technological advancement and overall challenges in the vaccine development pipeline. Special emphasis is placed on the development of anti-tick vaccines that can quell both vectors and pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josipa Kuleš
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Anita Horvatić
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Nicolas Guillemin
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Asier Galan
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Vladimir Mrljak
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Mangesh Bhide
- ERA Chair VetMedZg project, Internal Diseases Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia. and Laboratory of Biomedical Microbiology and Immunology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Kosice, Slovakia and Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovakia Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
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13
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Abstract
Human ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are acute febrile tick-borne infectious diseases caused by various members from the genera Ehrlichia and Anaplasma. Ehrlichia chaffeensis is the major etiologic agent of human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (HME), while Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the major cause of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). The clinical manifestations of HME and HGA ranges from subclinical to potentially life-threatening diseases associated with multi-organ failure. Macrophages and neutrophils are the major target cells for Ehrlichia and Anaplasma, respectively. The threat to public health is increasing with newly emerging ehrlichial and anaplasma agents, yet vaccines for human ehrlichioses and anaplasmosis are not available, and therapeutic options are limited. This article reviews recent advances in the understanding of HME and HGA.
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Thema N, Pretorius A, Tshilwane SI, Liebenberg J, Steyn H, Van Kleef M. Cellular immune responses induced <i>in vitro</i> by <i>Ehrlichia ruminantium</i> secreted proteins and identification of vaccine candidate peptides. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 83:e1-e11. [PMID: 27608502 PMCID: PMC6238801 DOI: 10.4102/ojvr.v83i1.1170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2016] [Revised: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/14/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Secreted proteins are reported to induce cell-mediated immunity characterised by the production of interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ. In this study three open reading frames (ORFs) (Erum8060, Erum7760, Erum5000) encoding secreted proteins were selected from the Ehrlichia ruminantium (Welgevonden) genome sequence using bioinformatics tools to determine whether they induce a cellular immune response in vitro with mononuclear cells from needle and tick infected animals. The whole recombinant protein of the three ORFs as well as four adjacent fragments of the Erum5000 protein (Erum5000A, Erum5000B, Erum5000C, Erum5000D) were successfully expressed in a bacterial expression system which was confirmed by immunoblots using anti-His antibodies and sheep sera. These recombinant proteins were assayed with immune sheep and cattle peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), spleen and lymph node (LN) cells to determine whether they induce recall cellular immune responses in vitro. Significant proliferative responses and IFN-γ production were evident for all recombinant proteins, especially Erum5000A, in both ruminant species tested. Thus overlapping peptides spanning Erum5000A were synthesised and peptides that induce proliferation of memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and production of IFN-γ were identified. These results illustrate that a Th1 type immune response was elicited and these recombinant proteins and peptides may therefore be promising candidates for development of a heartwater vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nontobeko Thema
- New Generation Vaccines Programme, Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute; Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria.
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Henrichs B, Oosthuizen MC, Troskie M, Gorsich E, Gondhalekar C, Beechler BR, Ezenwa VO, Jolles AE. Within guild co-infections influence parasite community membership: a longitudinal study in African Buffalo. J Anim Ecol 2016; 85:1025-34. [PMID: 27084785 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Experimental studies in laboratory settings have demonstrated a critical role of parasite interactions in shaping parasite communities. The sum of these interactions can produce diverse effects on individual hosts as well as influence disease emergence and persistence at the population level. A predictive framework for the effects of parasite interactions in the wild remains elusive, largely because of limited longitudinal or experimental data on parasite communities of free-ranging hosts. This 4-year study followed a community of haemoparasites in free-ranging African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). We detected infection by 11 haemoparasite species using PCR-based diagnostic techniques, and analyzed drivers of infection patterns using generalized linear mixed models to understand the role of host characteristics and season on infection likelihood. We tested for (i) effects of co-infection by other haemoparasites (within guild) and (ii) effects of parasites infecting different tissue types (across guild). We found that within guild co-infections were the strongest predictors of haemoparasite infections in the buffalo; but that seasonal and host characteristics also had important effects. In contrast, the evidence for across-guild effects of parasites utilizing different tissue on haemoparasite infection was weak. These results provide a nuanced view of the role of co-infections in determining haemoparasite infection patterns in free living mammalian hosts. Our findings suggest a role for interactions among parasites infecting a single tissue type in determining infection patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Henrichs
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
| | - Marinda C Oosthuizen
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - Milana Troskie
- Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa
| | - Erin Gorsich
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
| | - Carmen Gondhalekar
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
| | - Brianna R Beechler
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
| | - Vanessa O Ezenwa
- Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA.,Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Anna E Jolles
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA.,Department of Biomedical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
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Oliveira FM, Coelho IEV, Lopes MD, Taranto AG, Junior MC, Santos LLD, Villar JAPF, Fonseca CT, Lopes DDO. The Use of Reverse Vaccinology and Molecular Modeling Associated with Cell Proliferation Stimulation Approach to Select Promiscuous Epitopes from Schistosoma mansoni. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2016; 179:1023-40. [DOI: 10.1007/s12010-016-2048-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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A review of reverse vaccinology approaches for the development of vaccines against ticks and tick borne diseases. Ticks Tick Borne Dis 2015; 7:573-85. [PMID: 26723274 DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2015] [Revised: 11/24/2015] [Accepted: 12/12/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The field of reverse vaccinology developed as an outcome of the genome sequence revolution. Following the introduction of live vaccinations in the western world by Edward Jenner in 1798 and the coining of the phrase 'vaccine', in 1881 Pasteur developed a rational design for vaccines. Pasteur proposed that in order to make a vaccine that one should 'isolate, inactivate and inject the microorganism' and these basic rules of vaccinology were largely followed for the next 100 years leading to the elimination of several highly infectious diseases. However, new technologies were needed to conquer many pathogens which could not be eliminated using these traditional technologies. Thus increasingly, computers were used to mine genome sequences to rationally design recombinant vaccines. Several vaccines for bacterial and viral diseases (i.e. meningococcus and HIV) have been developed, however the on-going challenge for parasite vaccines has been due to their comparatively larger genomes. Understanding the immune response is important in reverse vaccinology studies as this knowledge will influence how the genome mining is to be conducted. Vaccine candidates for anaplasmosis, cowdriosis, theileriosis, leishmaniasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, and the cattle tick have been identified using reverse vaccinology approaches. Some challenges for parasite vaccine development include the ability to address antigenic variability as well the understanding of the complex interplay between antibody, mucosal and/or T cell immune responses. To understand the complex parasite interactions with the livestock host, there is the limitation where algorithms for epitope mining using the human genome cannot directly be adapted for bovine, for example the prediction of peptide binding to major histocompatibility complex motifs. As the number of genomes for both hosts and parasites increase, the development of new algorithms for pan-genomic mining will continue to impact the future of parasite and ricketsial (and other tick borne pathogens) disease vaccine development.
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Sayler KA, Loftis AD, Mahan SM, Barbet AF. Development of a Quantitative PCR Assay for Differentiating the Agent of Heartwater Disease, Ehrlichia ruminantium, from the Panola Mountain Ehrlichia. Transbound Emerg Dis 2015; 63:e260-e269. [PMID: 25807955 DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Panola Mountain Ehrlichia (PME) is an emerging Ehrlichia sp. reported in ten US states. Based on the sequence homology of all known genes, PME is closely related to Ehrlichia ruminantium (ER), the causative agent of heartwater. Heartwater is an economically important tick-borne disease of cattle, sheep and goats responsible for stock losses in sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, ER was imported to the Caribbean islands in the 19th century, and the presence of this foreign animal disease in the Caribbean poses a threat to the US mainland. If introduced, a heartwater outbreak would cause massive losses of naïve livestock. The serologic assay of choice to diagnose heartwater is cross-reactive with Ehrlichia spp., including PME, as we demonstrate here, which would confound disease surveillance in the event of a heartwater outbreak. The purpose of this study was to develop a diagnostic assay capable of rapidly distinguishing between these pathogens. Using synthetic MAP-1B peptides for ER and PME, we tested the cross-reactivity of this assay using sera from infected livestock. The MAP-1B ELISA cannot distinguish between animals infected with PME and ER. Therefore, a dual-plex Taqman™ qPCR assay targeting the groEL gene of PME and ER was developed and validated. Primers were designed that are conserved among all known strains of ER, allowing for the amplification of strains from the Caribbean and Africa. The assay is highly sensitive (10 copies of DNA) and specific. This assay distinguishes between infection with PME and ER and will be a valuable tool in the event of heartwater outbreak on the US mainland, or for epidemiological studies involving either disease-causing organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- K A Sayler
- Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA. .,Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - A D Loftis
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA
| | - S M Mahan
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Zoetis, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
| | - A F Barbet
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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19
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Thomas S, Luxon BA. Vaccines based on structure-based design provide protection against infectious diseases. Expert Rev Vaccines 2014; 12:1301-11. [DOI: 10.1586/14760584.2013.840092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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20
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Gomez G, Adams LG, Rice-Ficht A, Ficht TA. Host-Brucella interactions and the Brucella genome as tools for subunit antigen discovery and immunization against brucellosis. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2013; 3:17. [PMID: 23720712 PMCID: PMC3655278 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2013.00017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2012] [Accepted: 04/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccination is the most important approach to counteract infectious diseases. Thus, the development of new and improved vaccines for existing, emerging, and re-emerging diseases is an area of great interest to the scientific community and general public. Traditional approaches to subunit antigen discovery and vaccine development lack consideration for the critical aspects of public safety and activation of relevant protective host immunity. The availability of genomic sequences for pathogenic Brucella spp. and their hosts have led to development of systems-wide analytical tools that have provided a better understanding of host and pathogen physiology while also beginning to unravel the intricacies at the host-pathogen interface. Advances in pathogen biology, host immunology, and host-agent interactions have the potential to serve as a platform for the design and implementation of better-targeted antigen discovery approaches. With emphasis on Brucella spp., we probe the biological aspects of host and pathogen that merit consideration in the targeted design of subunit antigen discovery and vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Gomez
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843, USA.
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