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Helminth infections are the most common afflictions of humankind, affecting almost every single person living in profound poverty. Through mass drug administration (MDA) we have seen sharp declines in the global prevalence of some helminth infections, including lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and ascariasis. However, since 1990, there has been no appreciable decrease in the global prevalence of hookworm infection, schistosomiasis, or food-borne trematodiases. Through the activities of a non-profit product development partnerships and two research institutes, a total of five human anthelmintic vaccines for hookworm infection (two) and schistosomiasis (three) have advanced from discovery through manufacture and are now in Phase 1 clinical testing. At least three additional antigens, including two for onchocerciasis and one for schistosomiasis, are also advancing through preclinical development with the intention of moving into the clinic soon. These preventive human anthelmintic vaccines could be used as stand-alone technologies administered to infants as part of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), or together with anthelmintic drugs in programs linked to MDA. Significant hurdles though could hinder the advancement of these vaccines into later-stage clinical and product development and licensure. They include the absence of a major pharma partner (and the resultant access to adjuvants and industrial scale manufacturing expertise), an uncharted roadmap for how to introduce anthelmintic vaccines into appropriate health systems, uncertain global access and regulatory strategies that might need to rely on developing country vaccine manufacturers and national regulatory authorities, and the lack of innovative financing schemes. However, the public health and economic benefits of introducing these vaccines could be massive and therefore deserve international attention and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A SARS-CoV RBD vaccine on alum provides high neutralizing titers and 100% survival. • A SARS-CoV RBD vaccine on alum prevents pulmonary cellular infiltrates upon virus challenge. • A SARS-CoV RBD vaccine on alum greatly reduces lung eosinophils compared to a vaccine comprised of the SARS-CoV S protein. • The SARS-CoV RBD vaccine on alum is being developed as a human vaccine. We developed a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) subunit recombinant protein vaccine candidate based on a high-yielding, yeast-engineered, receptor-binding domain (RBD219-N1) of the SARS beta-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) spike (S) protein. When formulated with Alhydrogel®, RBD219-N1 induced high levels of neutralizing antibodies against both pseudotyped virus and a clinical (mouse-adapted) isolate of SARS-CoV. Here, we report that mice immunized with RBD219-N1/Alhydrogel® were fully protected from lethal SARS-CoV challenge (0% mortality), compared to ~30% mortality in mice immunized with the SARS S protein formulated with Alhydrogel®, and 100% mortality in negative controls. An RBD219-N1 formulation with Alhydrogel® was also superior to the S protein, unadjuvanted RBD, and AddaVax (MF59-like adjuvant)-formulated RBD in inducing specific antibodies and preventing cellular infiltrates in the lungs upon SARS-CoV challenge. Specifically, a formulation with a 1:25 ratio of RBD219-N1 to Alhydrogel® provided high neutralizing antibody titers, 100% protection with non-detectable viral loads with minimal or no eosinophilic pulmonary infiltrates. As a result, this vaccine formulation is under consideration for further development against SARS-CoV and potentially other emerging and re-emerging beta-CoVs such as SARS-CoV-2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunization is the best way to prevent seasonal epidemics and pandemics of influenza. There are two kinds of influenza vaccines available in the United States: an inactivated vaccine (TIV) and an attenuated vaccine; however, only TIV is approved for immunization of the elderly population. While the aged population has the highest rate of influenza vaccination, the protective efficacy is low as evidenced by elderly individuals having the highest mortality associated with influenza. Recently, we reported that an adjuvant derived from the helminth parasite Onchocerca volvulus , named O. volvulus activation-associated secreted protein-1 ( Ov -ASP-1), can significantly enhance the protective efficacy of an inactivated vaccine (TIV) in young adult mice. In the current study, we examined whether this recombinant Ov -ASP-1 (r Ov -ASP-1) can enhance the efficacy of TIV in aged mice as well. While primary immunization with TIV alone produced only a low level of influenza-specific antibodies (total IgG, IgG1, and IgG2c) in aged mice, the antibody levels were significantly increased after immunization with TIV + r Ov -ASP-1. More importantly, the level of the total IgG in aged mice administered TIV + r Ov -ASP-1 was comparable to that of young adult mice immunized with TIV alone. Co-administration of r Ov -ASP-1 induced a low level of cross-reactive antibody and enhanced the protective efficacy of TIV in aged mice, reflected by significantly increased survival after challenge with a heterologous influenza virus. r Ov -ASP-1 was also superior to the conventional adjuvant alum in inducing specific IgG after TIV immunization in aged mice, and in conferring protection after challenge. These results demonstrate that r Ov -ASP-1 may serve as a potential adjuvant for influenza vaccine to improve the efficacy of protection in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Onchocerca volvulus activation-associated secreted protein-1 ( Ov -ASP-1) has good adjuvanticity for a variety of antigens and vaccines, probably due to its ability activate antigen-processing cells (APCs). However, the functional domain of Ov -ASP-1 as an adjuvant is not clearly defined. Based on the structural prediction of this protein family, we constructed a 16-kDa recombinant protein of Ov -ASP-1 that contains only the core pathogenesis-related-1 (PR-1) domain (residues 10–153), designated ASPPR. We found that ASPPR exhibits adjuvanticity similar to that of the full-length Ov -ASP-1 (residues 10–220) for various antigens, including ovalbumin (OVA), HBsAg protein antigen, and the HIV peptide 5 (Pep5) antigen, but it is more suitable for vaccine design in ASPPR-antigen fusion proteins, and more stable in PBS than Ov -ASP-1 stored at −70 °C. These results suggest that ASPPR might be the functional region of Ov -ASP-1 as an adjuvant, and therefore could be developed as an adjuvant for human use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] rOv-ASP-1 enhances a stronger antibody response to influenza vaccine. [•] rOv-ASP-1 enhances cross-reactive antibody responses to influenza vaccine. [•] rOv-ASP-1 enhances the protection afforded by an inactivated influenza vaccine after challenge with a heterologous influenza virus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Human intestinal infections with the nematode Strongyloides stercoralis remain a significant problem worldwide and a vaccine would be a useful addition to the tools available to prevent and control this infection. The goal of this study was to test single antigens for their efficacy in a vaccine against S. stercoralis larvae in mice. Alum was used as the adjuvant in these studies and antigens selected for analysis were either recognized by protective human IgG (Ss-TMY-1, Ss-EAT-6, and Ss-LEC-5) or were known to be highly immunogenic in humans (Ss-NIE-1 and Ss-IR). Only mice immunized with the Ss-IR antigen demonstrated a significant decrease of approximately 80% in the survival of larval parasites in the challenge infection. Antibodies, recovered from mice with protective immunity to S. stercoralis after immunization with Ss-IR, were used to locate the antigen in the larvae. Confocal microscopy revealed that IgG from mice immunized with Ss-IR bound to the surface of the parasites and observations by electron microscopy indicated that IgG bound to granules in the glandular esophagus. Serum collected from mice immunized with Ss-IR passively transferred immunity to naïve mice. These studies demonstrate that Ss-IR, in combination with alum, induces high levels of protective immunity through an antibody dependent mechanism and may therefore be suitable for further development as a vaccine against human strongyloidiasis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Our previous studies have shown the adjuvanticity of an Onchocerca volvulus recombinant protein, Ov-ASP-1 (ASP-1), when administered in an aqueous formulation with bystander vaccine antigens or commercial vaccines. In this study, we reported a novel formulation that took advantage of the protein nature of the ASP-1 adjuvant by creating recombinant fusion protein vaccines linking the highly conserved extracellular domain of M2 protein (M2e) consensus sequence of H5N1 influenza viruses with the ASP-1 adjuvant. Two recombinant fusion proteins designated M2e-ASP-1 and M2e3-ASP-1 were studied, in which ASP-1 was fused with one or three tandem copies of the M2e antigen. Our results show that these novel recombinant influenza vaccines, particularly M2e3-ASP-1, induced strong anti-M2e-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in the established mouse model. Furthermore, M2e3-ASP-1 was able to provide significant cross-clade protection against divergent H5N1 viruses. Consequently, this study has demonstrated a potential novel vaccine formulation that could provide a complementary prophylactic strategy in preventing the threat of future influenza outbreak resulting from rapid evolution of the H5N1 virus and co-circulation of multiple antigenic variants in various regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Alum, the only adjuvant approved for clinical applications, can induce strong humoral (Th2) but weak cellular (Th1) immune responses. It is necessary to develop safe and effective adjuvants capable of inducing both humoral and cellular immune responses. We previously showed that activation-associated protein-1 (ASP-1) derived from Onchocerca volvulus has potent adjuvant activity. In this study, we have further evaluated the adjuvanticity of recombinant ASP-1 using a panel of recombinant proteins or synthetic peptide-based antigens, including ovalbumin (OVA), synthetic HIV peptide (HIV-p), recombinant HIV gp41 (rgp41) and HBV HBsAg, as well as three commercially available inactivated vaccines against haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), Influenza and Rabies. Our results indicate that ASP-1 induced significantly higher IgG1 (Th2-associated) and IgG2a (Th1-associated) responses than alum adjuvant against OVA antigen, HIV-p, and rgp41. Consistently, it induced similar level of IgG1 responses as alum but higher level of IgG2a and IFN-γ-producing T cell responses than alum adjuvant against HBsAg. Further, ASP-1 improved both IgG1 and IgG2a responses to three commercial inactivated vaccines when used separately or in combination. In conclusion, the recombinant ASP-1, unlike alum adjuvant, is able to induce both Th1 and Th2-associated humoral responses and Th1 cellular responses, suggesting that it can be further developed as a promising adjuvant for subunit-based and inactivated vaccines. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We studied the adjuvanticity of recombinant Onchocerca volvulus activation associated protein-1 (rOv-ASP-1) for ovalbumin (OVA) in mice. After a single immunization and one boost, rOv-ASP-1 exceeded the efficacy of alum or MPL+TDM adjuvants in terms of end-point total IgG or IgG1 and IgG2a anti-OVA titres. Using the helminth-derived adjuvant, IgG isotype responses to OVA were of a mixed Th1/Th2 profile and spleen cell cytokines exclusively Th1-type. The potent adjuvanticity of rOv-ASP-1 was confirmed in mice vaccinated with a 37-mer peptide from the S protein of SARS-CoV and an HIV-1 gp120-CD4 chimeric polypeptide antigen. Unusually for a helminth product, the rOv-ASP-1 adjuvant augmented not only Th2 but also Th1 responses, the latter property being of potential utility in stimulating anti-viral immune responses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]