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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health concern, and the development of an effective HCV vaccine plays an important role in the effort to prevent new infections. Supramolecular co-assembly and co-presentation of the HCV envelope E1E2 heterodimer complex and core protein presents an attractive vaccine design strategy for achieving effective humoral and cellular immunity. With this objective, the two antigens were non-covalently assembled with an immunostimulant (TLR 7/8 agonist) into virus-mimicking polymer nanocomplexes (VMPNs) using a biodegradable synthetic polyphosphazene delivery vehicle. The resulting assemblies were characterized using dynamic light scattering and asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation methods and directly visualized in their vitrified state by cryogenic electron microscopy. The in vivo superiority of VMPNs over the individual components and an Alum-formulated vaccine manifests in higher neutralizing antibody titers, the promotion of a balanced IgG response, and the induction of a cellular immunity-CD4+ T cell responses to core proteins. The aqueous-based spontaneous co-assembly of antigens and immunopotentiating molecules enabled by a synthetic biodegradable carrier offers a simple and effective pathway to the development of polymer-based supramolecular nanovaccine systems.

'Epivolve' (epitope evolution) is an innovative paratope-evolving technology using a haptenated peptide or protein immunogen as a means of directing the in vivo immune response to specifically targeted sites at a one amino acid residue resolution. Guided by protein structural analysis, Epivolve technology was tested to develop site-directed neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) in a systematic fashion against the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Binding Domain (RBD). Thirteen solvent-exposed sites covering the ACE2 receptor-binding interface were targeted. Immunogens composed of each targeted site were used to immunize rabbits in separate cohorts. In vivo site-directed immune responses against all 13 targets were demonstrated by B cell secreted IgG and recombinant IgG testing. One site, SL13 (Y505) which mutates from tyrosine to histidine in the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, was chosen as a proof-of-concept (PoC) model for further functional monoclonal antibody development. Epivolve technology demonstrated the capabilities of generating pan-variant antibodies and nAbs against the SARS-CoV-2 primary strain and the Omicron variant., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following conflict of interest: Patent protection for the Epivolve technology has been submitted for Abbratech Inc., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Canine babesiosis is a common disease in the northern part of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in particular in the Kostanay region. In recent years, a large number of cases of the disease with a variety of clinical symptoms have been registered., Aim: The purpose of the study was to monitor the spread, characterization, and identify the Babesia species involved of Babesia species in ticks and blood of dogs in the Kostanai region., Methods: The research work began in 2017 with the study of the spread of babesiosis in dogs in the Kostanay region according to the reports of veterinary clinics. The collection of ticks from the territory and from dogs was carried out in 2017-2021., Results: As a result of the research work, the presence in the city and some areas of the Kostanay region of two species of ixodid Dermacentor reticulatus and Dermacentor marginatus , was established. Of these, one species was identified in dogs, which serves as a carrier of canine babesiosis- D. reticulatus . In all 31 DNA samples from the blood of dogs diagnosed with babesiosis, a fragment of the 18S rRNA gene was amplified. The nucleotide sequence was obtained for 30 samples (96.8%), in one sample a low luminescence intensity of a specific PCR product was observed. Two Babesia canis haplotypes were distinguished on the basis of two nucleotide substitutions (GA→AG) observed in the sequences of the 18S rRNA gene., Conclusions: In conclusion, the results of this study provide insight into the distribution of B. canis haplotypes in dogs in the Kostanay region, and canine babesiosis is caused solely by the large Babesia species B. canis ., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Giardiasis is a disease caused by the protist Giardia lamblia. As no human vaccines have been approved so far against it, and resistance to current drugs is spreading, new strategies for combating giardiasis need to be developed. The G. lamblia ribosome may provide a promising therapeutic target due to its distinct sequence differences from ribosomes of most eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Here, we report the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the G. lamblia (WB strain) ribosome determined at 2.75 Å resolution. The ribosomal RNA is the shortest known among eukaryotes, and lacks nearly all the eukaryote-specific ribosomal RNA expansion segments. In contrast, the ribosomal proteins are typically eukaryotic with some species-specific insertions/extensions. Most typical inter-subunit bridges are maintained except for one missing contact site. Unique structural features are located mainly at the ribosome's periphery. These may be exploited as target sites for the design of new compounds that inhibit selectively the parasite's ribosomal activity., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.)