Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research最新文献

Purpose: The global burden of disease and mortality is greatly influenced by malaria, particularly in children. Nigeria alone accounts for about 25% of global malaria cases and fatalities. Despite efforts to control and eliminate malaria, conventional treatments have limitations, prompting the need for a vaccine. However, while efforts have focused on researching and developing malaria vaccines, less attention has been given to public acceptance and preparedness for vaccination.

Materials and methods: The study employed a cross-sectional approach to assess the knowledge, perceptions, and readiness of caregivers towards the malaria vaccine. Data were collected through a physical and online survey among a representative sample of caregivers across the six geopolitical regions of Nigeria. The data was analyzed using principal component analysis and percentages.

Results: Out of 347 respondents, 180 (51%) men, 165 (46.6%) women, 2 (0.5%) transgender, 156 (45%) rural settlers, and 191 (55%) urban settlers were identified in this study. The study reported an overall acceptance rate of 78.4% and 21.6% resistance rate. The age group between 21-30 years recorded the highest 207 (59.6%). A significant number of participants, 252 (59.6%), held at least a higher or post-secondary certificate, out of which 193 (55.6%) demonstrated strong readiness to accept the malaria vaccine. The study showed that fear of adverse effects was the main reason for malaria vaccine resistance among caregivers.

Conclusion: This study's findings offer valuable insights into caregivers' knowledge about the malaria vaccine, highlighting the factors that impact the acceptance of the malaria vaccine.

This narrative review describes genomic characteristic, serotyping, immunogenicity, and vaccine development of Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharide (CPS). CPS is a primary virulence factor of S. pneumoniae. The genomic characteristics of S. pneumoniae CPS, including the role of biosynthetic gene and genetic variation within cps (capsule polysaccharide) locus which may lead to serotype replacement are still being investigated. One hundred unique serotypes of S. pneumoniae have been identified through various methods of serotyping using phenotypic and genotypic approach. The advantages and limitations of each method are various, emphasizing the need for accurate and comprehensive serotyping for effective disease surveillance and vaccine targeting. In addition, we elaborate the critical role of CPS in vaccine development by providing an overview of immunogenicity, ongoing research of pneumococcal vaccines, and the impact on disease burden.

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines has been a remarkable advancement. However, the efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of these vaccines in individuals with liver cirrhosis require careful evaluation due to their compromised immune status and potential interactions with underlying liver disease. The present study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in liver cirrhosis patients. In the present study, we searched international databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science. The search strategy was carried out by using keywords and MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms. STATA ver. 15.0 (Stata Corp., USA) was used to analyze the data statistically. The analysis was performed using the random-effects model. We also used the chi-square test and I² index to calculate heterogeneity among studies. For evaluating publication bias, Begg's funnel plots and Egger's tests were used. A total of 4,831 liver cirrhosis patients with COVID-19 were examined from 11 studies. The rate of hospitalization in the patients with liver cirrhosis was 17.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 9%-44%). The rate of fever in the patients with liver cirrhosis was 4.5% (95% CI, 0.9%-8.1%). The rate of positive neutralizing antibodies in the patients with liver cirrhosis was 82.5% (95% CI, 69.8%-95.1%). Also, the rates of seroconversion after the second vaccination in patients with liver cirrhosis and the control group were 96.6% (95% CI, 92.0%-99.0%), and 99.7% (95% CI, 99.0%-100.0%), respectively. COVID-19 vaccines have demonstrated promising efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety profiles in individuals with liver cirrhosis, providing crucial protection against COVID-19-related complications.

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune-related disorder characterized by non-scarring hair loss in children. We report the case of a child who had AA after the fifth dose of rabies vaccine and summarized various potential mechanisms of vaccination induced AA. This case indicates that rabies vaccine might be a predisposition of AA by causing immune dysregulation.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine was developed to provide immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which was first reported in 2019. The vaccine has proven to be effective in reducing severity and mortality and preventing infection. Henoch-Schönlein purpura is an autoimmune vasculitis (immunoglobulin A vasculitis). Historically, vaccines have been administered primarily to children, and Henoch-Schönlein purpura has often been reported in children following vaccination. However, since the start of COVID-19 vaccination, an increasing number of cases have been reported in adults. Here, we report a case of a patient who developed hematuria and proteinuria after receiving the messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine. A 22-year-old man presented to the hospital with a lower extremity rash, bilateral ankle pain, and abdominal pain 18 days after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The man had no significant medical history and was not taking any medications. Laboratory tests showed normal platelet counts but elevated white blood cell counts and C-reactive protein and fibrinogen levels. He was treated with the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, pheniramine and prednisolone. At 40 days after starting treatment, C-reactive protein levels were within normal limits, and no hematuria was observed. Treatment was terminated when the purpura disappeared. This report is intended to highlight the need for further research to be proactive and carefully monitor for conditions associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.

Purpose: Infection by the intracellular apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii has serious clinical consequences in humans and veterinarians around the world. Although about a third of the world's population is infected with T. gondii, there is still no effective vaccine against this disease. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a multimeric vaccine against T. gondii using the proteins calcium-dependent protein kinase (CDPK)1, CDPK2, CDPK3, and CDPK5.

Materials and methods: Top-ranked major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-I and MHC-II binding as well as shared, immunodominant linear B-cell epitopes were predicted and linked using appropriate linkers. Moreover, the 50S ribosomal protein L7/L12 (adjuvant) was mixed with the construct's N-terminal to increase the immunogenicity. Then, the vaccine's physicochemical characteristics, antigenicity, allergenicity, secondary and tertiary structure were predicted.

Results: The finally-engineered chimeric vaccine had a length of 680 amino acids with a molecular weight of 74.66 kDa. Analyses of immunogenicity, allergenicity, and multiple physiochemical parameters indicated that the constructed vaccine candidate was soluble, non-allergenic, and immunogenic, making it compatible with humans and hence, a potentially viable and safe vaccine candidate against T. gondii parasite.

Conclusion: In silico, the vaccine construct was able to trigger primary immune responses. However, further laboratory studies are needed to confirm its effectiveness and safety.

Vaccines are one of the most important and effective tools in the prevention of infectious diseases and research about all the aspects of vaccinology are essential to increase the number of available vaccines more and more safe and effective. Despite the unquestionable value of vaccinations, vaccine hesitancy has spread worldwide compromising the success of vaccinations. Currently, the main purpose of vaccination campaigns is the immunization of whole populations with the same vaccine formulations and schedules for all individuals. A personalized vaccinology approach could improve modern vaccinology counteracting vaccine hesitancy and giving great benefits for human health. This ambitious purpose would be possible by facing and deepening the areas of vaccinomics and adversomics, two innovative areas of study investigating the role of a series of variables able to influence the immune response to vaccinations and the development of serious side effects, respectively. We reviewed the recent scientific knowledge about these innovative sciences focusing on genetic and non-genetic basis involved in the individual response to vaccines in terms of both immune response and side effects.

DNA cancer vaccines as an approach in tumor immunotherapy are still being investigated in preclinical and clinical settings. Nevertheless, only a small number of clinical studies have been published so far and are still active. The investigated vaccines show a relatively stable expression in in-vitro transfected cells and may be favorable for developing an immunologic memory in patients. Therefore, DNA vaccines could be suitable as a prophylactic or therapeutic approach against cancer. Due to the low efficiency of these vaccines, the administration technique plays an important role in the vaccine design and its efficacy. These DNA cancer vaccine delivery systems include physical, biological, and non-biological techniques. Although the pre-clinical studies show promising results in the application of the different delivery systems, further studies in clinical trials have not yet been successfully proven.

Purpose: Pertussis bacteria have many pathogenic and virulent antigens and severe adverse reactions have occurred when using inactivated whole-cell pertussis vaccines. Therefore, inactivated acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines and genetically detoxified recombinant pertussis (rP) vaccines are being developed. The aim of this study was to assess the safety profile of a novel rP vaccine under development in comparison to commercial diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccines.

Materials and methods: The two positive control DTaP vaccines (two- and tri-components aP vaccines) and two experimental recombinant DTaP (rDTaP) vaccine (two- and tri-components aP vaccines adsorbed to either aluminum hydroxide or purified oat beta-glucan) were used. Temperature histamine sensitization test (HIST), indirect Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell cluster assay, mouse-weight-gain (MWG) test, leukocytosis promoting (LP) test, and intramuscular inflammatory cytokine assay of the injection site performed for safety assessments.

Results: HIST results showed absence of residual pertussis toxin (PTx) in both control and experimental DTaP vaccine groups, whereas in groups immunized with tri-components vaccines, the experimental tri-components rDTaP absorbed to alum showed an ultra-small amount of 0.0066 IU/mL. CHO cell clustering was observed from 4 IU/mL in all groups. LP tests showed that neutrophils and lymphocytes were in the normal range in all groups immunized with the two components vaccine. However, in the tri-components control DTaP vaccine group, as well as two- and tri-components rDTaP with beta-glucan group, a higher monocyte count was observed 3 days after vaccination, although less than 2 times the normal range. In the MWG test, both groups showed changes less than 20% in body temperature and body weight before the after the final immunizations. Inflammatory cytokines within the muscle at the injection site on day 3 after intramuscular injection revealed no significant response in all groups.

Conclusion: There were no findings associated with residual PTx, and no significant differences in both local and systemic adverse reactions in the novel rDTaP vaccine compared to existing available DTaP vaccines. The results suggest that the novel rDTaP vaccine is safe.

This repeated cross-sectional study with two independent sample populations compared the antibody response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccines in Albania in July-August 2021 and 2022. In 2021, it found higher anti-spike-1 seropositivity and antibody levels in fully vaccinated individuals, especially with BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 and to a lesser degree with CoronaVac. By 2022, all single-dose recipients showed high antibody responses, suggesting natural infection-enhanced immunity. The study indicates a significant evolution in the antibody response to different coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines and suggests that a single vaccine dose, coupled with natural infection, might suffice to maintain adequate immunity levels in an endemic scenario.