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Abstract Canine distemper virus (CDV) affects many domestic and wild animals. Variations among CDV genome linages could lead to vaccination failure. To date, there are several vaccine alternatives, such as a modified live virus and a recombinant vaccine; however, most of these alternatives are based on the ancestral strain Onderstepoort, which has not been circulating for years. Vaccine failures and the need to update vaccines have been widely discussed, and the development of new vaccine candidates is necessary to reduce circulation and mortality. Current vaccination alternatives cannot be used in wildlife animals due to the lack of safety data for most of the species, in addition to the insufficient immune response against circulating strains worldwide in domestic species. Computational tools, including peptide-based therapies, have become essential for developing new-generation vaccines for diverse models. In this work, a peptide-based vaccine candidate with a peptide library derived from CDV H and F protein consensus sequences was constructed employing computational tools. The molecular docking and dynamics of the selected peptides with canine MHC-I and MHC-II and with TLR-2 and TLR-4 were evaluated. In silico safety was assayed through determination of antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity potential, and homologous canine peptides. Additionally, in vitro safety was also evaluated through cytotoxicity in cell lines and canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (cPBMCs) and through a hemolysis potential assay using canine red blood cells. A multiepitope CDV polypeptide was constructed, synthetized, and evaluated in silico and in vitro by employing the most promising peptides for comparison with single CDV immunogenic peptides. Our findings suggest that predicting immunogenic CDV peptides derived from most antigenic CDV proteins could aid in the development of new vaccine candidates, such as multiple single CDV peptides and multiepitope CDV polypeptides, that are safe in vitro and optimized in silico. In vivo studies are being conducted to validate potential vaccines that may be effective in preventing CDV infection in domestic and wild animals.

The increasing and ongoing issue of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is of huge concern globally, mainly to healthcare facilities. It is now crucial to develop a vaccine for therapeutic and preventive purposes against the bacterial species causing hospital-based infections. Among the many antibiotic- resistant bacterial pathogens, the Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) including six species, E. Colcae, E. absuriae, E. kobie, E. hormaechei, E. ludwigii, and E. nimipressuralis, are dangerous to public health and may worsen the situation. Vaccination plays a vital role in the prevention of infections and infectious diseases. This research highlighted the construction and design of a multi-epitope vaccine for the E. cloacae complex by retrieving their complete sequenced proteome. The retrieved proteome was assessed to opt for potential vaccine candidates using immunoinformatic tools. Both B and T-cell epitopes were predicted in order to create both humoral and cellular immunity and further scrutinized for antigenicity, allergenicity, water solubility, and toxicity analysis. The final potential epitopes were subjected to population coverage analysis. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class combined, and MHC Class I and II world population coverage was obtained as 99.74%, and 98.55% respectively while a combined 81.81% was covered. A multi-epitope peptide-based vaccine construct consisting of the adjuvant, epitopes, and linkers was subjected to the ProtParam tool to calculate its physiochemical properties. The total amino acids were 236, the molecular weight was 27.64kd, and the vaccine construct was stable with an instability index of 27.01. The Grand Average of Hydropathy (GRAVY) (hydrophilicity) value obtained was -0.659, being more negative and depicting the hydrophilic character. It was non-allergen antigenic with an antigenicity of 0.8913. The vaccine construct was further validated for binding efficacy with immune cell receptors MHC-I, MHC-II, and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4. The molecular docking results depict that the designed vaccine has good binding potency with immune receptors crucial for antigen presentation and processing. Among the Vaccine-MHC-I, Vaccine-MHC-II, and Vaccine-TLR- 4 complexes, the best-docked poses were identified based on their lowest binding energy scores of -886.8, -995.6, and -883.6, respectively. Overall, we observed that the designed vaccine construct can evoke a proper immune response and the construct could help experimental researchers in the formulation of a vaccine against the targeted pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canine distemper virus (CDV) affects many domestic and wild animals. Variations among CDV genome linages could lead to vaccination failure. To date, there are several vaccine alternatives, such as a modified live virus and a recombinant vaccine; however, most of these alternatives are based on the ancestral strain Onderstepoort, which has not been circulating for years. Vaccine failures and the need to update vaccines have been widely discussed, and the development of new vaccine candidates is necessary to reduce circulation and mortality. Current vaccination alternatives cannot be used in wildlife animals due to the lack of safety data for most of the species, in addition to the insufficient immune response against circulating strains worldwide in domestic species. Computational tools, including peptide-based therapies, have become essential for developing new-generation vaccines for diverse models. In this work, a peptide-based vaccine candidate with a peptide library derived from CDV H and F protein consensus sequences was constructed employing computational tools. The molecular docking and dynamics of the selected peptides with canine MHC-I and MHC-II and with TLR-2 and TLR-4 were evaluated. In silico safety was assayed through determination of antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity potential, and homologous canine peptides. Additionally, in vitro safety was also evaluated through cytotoxicity in cell lines and canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (cPBMCs) and through a hemolysis potential assay using canine red blood cells. A multiepitope CDV polypeptide was constructed, synthetized, and evaluated in silico and in vitro by employing the most promising peptides for comparison with single CDV immunogenic peptides. Our findings suggest that predicting immunogenic CDV peptides derived from most antigenic CDV proteins could aid in the development of new vaccine candidates, such as multiple single CDV peptides and multiepitope CDV polypeptides, that are safe in vitro and optimized in silico. In vivo studies are being conducted to validate potential vaccines that may be effective in preventing CDV infection in domestic and wild animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing and ongoing issue of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is of huge concern globally, mainly to healthcare facilities. It is now crucial to develop a vaccine for therapeutic and preventive purposes against the bacterial species causing hospital-based infections. Among the many antibiotic- resistant bacterial pathogens, the Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) including six species, E. Colcae, E. absuriae, E. kobie, E. hormaechei, E. ludwigii, and E. nimipressuralis, are dangerous to public health and may worsen the situation. Vaccination plays a vital role in the prevention of infections and infectious diseases. This research highlighted the construction and design of a multi-epitope vaccine for the E. cloacae complex by retrieving their complete sequenced proteome. The retrieved proteome was assessed to opt for potential vaccine candidates using immunoinformatic tools. Both B and T-cell epitopes were predicted in order to create both humoral and cellular immunity and further scrutinized for antigenicity, allergenicity, water solubility, and toxicity analysis. The final potential epitopes were subjected to population coverage analysis. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class combined, and MHC Class I and II world population coverage was obtained as 99.74%, and 98.55% respectively while a combined 81.81% was covered. A multi-epitope peptide-based vaccine construct consisting of the adjuvant, epitopes, and linkers was subjected to the ProtParam tool to calculate its physiochemical properties. The total amino acids were 236, the molecular weight was 27.64kd, and the vaccine construct was stable with an instability index of 27.01. The Grand Average of Hydropathy (GRAVY) (hydrophilicity) value obtained was -0.659, being more negative and depicting the hydrophilic character. It was non-allergen antigenic with an antigenicity of 0.8913. The vaccine construct was further validated for binding efficacy with immune cell receptors MHC-I, MHC-II, and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4. The molecular docking results depict that the designed vaccine has good binding potency with immune receptors crucial for antigen presentation and processing. Among the Vaccine-MHC-I, Vaccine-MHC-II, and Vaccine-TLR-4 complexes, the best-docked poses were identified based on their lowest binding energy scores of -886.8, -995.6, and -883.6, respectively. Overall, we observed that the designed vaccine construct can evoke a proper immune response and the construct could help experimental researchers in the formulation of a vaccine against the targeted pathogens.

Background: Melanoma is the most fatal kind of skin cancer. Among its various types, cutaneous melanoma is the most prevalent one. Melanoma cells are thought to be highly immunogenic due to the presence of distinct tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), which includes carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) and neo-antigens. The CTA family is a group of antigens that are only expressed in malignancies and testicular germ cells. Methods: We used integrative framework and systems-level analysis to predict potential vaccine candidates for cutaneous melanoma involving epitopes prediction, molecular modeling and molecular docking to cross-validate the binding affinity and interaction between potential vaccine agents and major histocompatibility molecules (MHCs) followed by molecular dynamics simulation, immune simulation and in silico cloning. Results: In this study, three cancer/testis antigens were targeted for immunotherapy of cutaneous melanoma. Among many CTAs that were studied for their expression in primary and malignant melanoma, NY-ESO-1, MAGE1 and SSX2 antigens are most prevalent in cutaneous melanoma. Cytotoxic and Helper epitopes were predicted, and the finest epitopes were shortlisted based on binding score. The vaccine construct was composed of the four epitope-rich domains of antigenic proteins, an appropriate adjuvant, His tag and linkers. This potential multi-epitope vaccine was further evaluated in terms of antigenicity, allergencity, toxicity and other physicochemical properties. Molecular interaction estimated through protein-protein docking unveiled good interactions characterized by favorable binding energies. Molecular dynamics simulation ensured the stability of docked complex and the predicted immune response through immune simulation revealed elevated levels of antibodies titer, cytokines, interleukins and immune cells (NK, DC and MA) population. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the potential vaccine candidates could be effective immunotherapeutic agents that modify the treatment strategies of cutaneous melanoma.

Mycobacterium smegmatis (M.sm) is frequently used as an alternative model organism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) studies. While containing high sequence homology with M.tb, it is considered non-pathogenic in humans. As such it has been used to study M.tb and other infections in vivo and more recently been explored for potential therapeutic applications. A body of previous research has highlighted the potential of using genetically modified M.sm displaying rapid growth and unique immunostimulatory characteristics as an effective vaccine vector. Novel systems biology techniques can further serve to optimize these delivery constructs. In this article, we review recent advancements in vaccinomics tools that support the efficacy of a M.sm-based vaccine vector. Moreover, the integration of systems biology and molecular omics techniques in these pioneering studies heralds a potential accelerated pipeline for the development of next-generation recombinant vaccines against rapidly developing diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vaccine is defined as a biologic preparation that trains the immune system, boosts immunity, and protects against a deadly microbial infection. They have been used for centuries to combat a variety of contagious illnesses by means of subsiding the disease burden as well as eradicating the disease. Since infectious disease pandemics are a recurring global threat, vaccination has emerged as one of the most promising tools to save millions of lives and reduce infection rates. The World Health Organization reports that immunization protects three million individuals annually. Currently, multi-epitope-based peptide vaccines are a unique concept in vaccine formulation. Epitope-based peptide vaccines utilize small fragments of proteins or peptides (parts of the pathogen), called epitopes, that trigger an adequate immune response against a particular pathogen. However, conventional vaccine designing and development techniques are too cumbersome, expensive, and time-consuming. With the recent advancement in bioinformatics, immunoinformatics, and vaccinomics discipline, vaccine science has entered a new era accompanying a modern, impressive, and more realistic paradigm in designing and developing next-generation strong immunogens. In silico designing and developing a safe and novel vaccine construct involves knowledge of reverse vaccinology, various vaccine databases, and high throughput techniques. The computational tools and techniques directly associated with vaccine research are extremely effective, economical, precise, robust, and safe for human use. Many vaccine candidates have entered clinical trials instantly and are available prior to schedule. In light of this, the present article provides researchers with up-to-date information on various approaches, protocols, and databases regarding the computational designing and development of potent multi-epitope-based peptide vaccines that can assist researchers in tailoring vaccines more rapidly and cost-effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opinion flows from Introduction to the immunological quantum that requires a historical perspective, to Quantum vaccine algorithms supported by a bibliometric analysis, to Quantum vaccinomics describing from our perspective the different vaccinomics and quantum vaccinomics algorithms. Finally, in the Discussion and conclusions we propose novel platforms and algorithms developed to further advance on quantum vaccinomics. In the paper we refer to protective epitopes or immunological quantum for the design of candidate vaccine antigens, which may elicit a protective response through both cellular and antibody mediated mechanisms of the host immune system. Vaccines are key interventions for the prevention and control of infectious diseases affecting humans and animals worldwide. Biophysics led to quantum biology and quantum immunology reflecting quantum dynamics within living systems and their evolution. In analogy to quantum of light, immune protective epitopes were proposed as the immunological quantum. Multiple quantum vaccine algorithms were developed based on omics and other technologies. Quantum vaccinomics is the methodological approach with different platforms used for the identification and combination of immunological quantum for vaccine development. Current quantum vaccinomics platforms include in vitro, in music and in silico algorithms and top trends in biotechnology for the identification, characterization and combination of candidate protective epitopes. These platforms have been applied to different infectious diseases and in the future should target prevalent and emerging infectious diseases with novel algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunoinformatics is an emerging area focused on development and applications of methods used to facilitate vaccine development. There is a growing interest in the field of vaccinology centered on the new omic science named ‘vaccinomics’. However, this approach has not succeeded to provide a solution against major infections affecting both animals and humans, since tick vaccines are still being developed based on conventional biochemical or immunological methods to dissect the molecular structure of the pathogen, looking for a candidate antigen. The availability of complete genomes and the novel advanced technologies, such as data mining, bioinformatics, microarrays, and proteomics, have revolutionized the approach to vaccine development and provided a new impulse to tick research. The aim of this review is to explore how modern vaccinology will contribute to the discovery of new candidate antigens and to understand the research process to improve existing vaccines. Under this concept, the omic age of ticks will make it possible to design vaccines starting from a prediction based on the in silico analysis of gene sequences obtained by data mining using computer algorithms, without the need to keep the pathogen growing in vitro. This new genome-based approach has been named “reverse vaccinology 3.0” or “vaccinomics 1.0” and can be applied to ticks.

• Many genetic associations with vaccine immunogenicity have been identified. • Most genetic associations identified with Hepatitis B, MMR, and influenza vaccines. • Genetic associations were identified with 6 adverse events following immunization. • Vaccinomics is a growing field with great potential but need for investment. • Progress in vaccinomics could improve vaccine safety and effectiveness. This scoping review summarizes a key aspect of vaccinomics by collating known associations between heterogeneity in human genetics and vaccine immunogenicity and safety. We searched PubMed for articles in English using terms covering vaccines routinely recommended to the general US population, their effects, and genetics/genomics. Included studies were controlled and demonstrated statistically significant associations with vaccine immunogenicity or safety. Studies of Pandemrix®, an influenza vaccine previously used in Europe, were also included, due to its widely publicized genetically mediated association with narcolepsy. Of the 2,300 articles manually screened, 214 were included for data extraction. Six included articles examined genetic influences on vaccine safety; the rest examined vaccine immunogenicity. Hepatitis B vaccine immunogenicity was reported in 92 articles and associated with 277 genetic determinants across 117 genes. Thirty-three articles identified 291 genetic determinants across 118 genes associated with measles vaccine immunogenicity, 22 articles identified 311 genetic determinants across 110 genes associated with rubella vaccine immunogenicity, and 25 articles identified 48 genetic determinants across 34 genes associated with influenza vaccine immunogenicity. Other vaccines had fewer than 10 studies each identifying genetic determinants of their immunogenicity. Genetic associations were reported with 4 adverse events following influenza vaccination (narcolepsy, GBS, GCA/PMR, high temperature) and 2 adverse events following measles vaccination (fever, febrile seizure). This scoping review identified numerous genetic associations with vaccine immunogenicity and several genetic associations with vaccine safety. Most associations were only reported in one study. This illustrates both the potential of and need for investment in vaccinomics. Current research in this field is focused on systems and genetic-based studies designed to identify risk signatures for serious vaccine reactions or diminished vaccine immunogenicity. Such research could bolster our ability to develop safer and more effective vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ticks can seriously affect human and animal health around the globe, causing significant economic losses each year. Chemical acaricides are widely used to control ticks, which negatively impact the environment and result in the emergence of acaricide-resistant tick populations. A vaccine is considered as one of the best alternative approaches to control ticks and tick-borne diseases, as it is less expensive and more effective than chemical controls. Many antigen-based vaccines have been developed as a result of current advances in transcriptomics, genomics, and proteomic techniques. A few of these (e.g., Gavac® and TickGARD®) are commercially available and are commonly used in different countries. Furthermore, a significant number of novel antigens are being investigated with the perspective of developing new anti-tick vaccines. However, more research is required to develop new and more efficient antigen-based vaccines, including on assessing the efficiency of various epitopes against different tick species to confirm their cross-reactivity and their high immunogenicity. In this review, we discuss the recent advancements in the development of antigen-based vaccines (traditional and RNA-based) and provide a brief overview of recent discoveries of novel antigens, along with their sources, characteristics, and the methods used to test their efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opinion flows from Introduction to the immunological quantum that requires a historical perspective, to Quantum vaccine algorithms supported by a bibliometric analysis, to Quantum vaccinomics describing from our perspective the different vaccinomics and quantum vaccinomics algorithms. Finally, in the Discussion and conclusions we propose novel platforms and algorithms developed to further advance on quantum vaccinomics. In the paper we refer to protective epitopes or immunological quantum for the design of candidate vaccine antigens, which may elicit a protective response through both cellular and antibody mediated mechanisms of the host immune system. Vaccines are key interventions for the prevention and control of infectious diseases affecting humans and animals worldwide. Biophysics led to quantum biology and quantum immunology reflecting quantum dynamics within living systems and their evolution. In analogy to quantum of light, immune protective epitopes were proposed as the immunological quantum. Multiple quantum vaccine algorithms were developed based on omics and other technologies. Quantum vaccinomics is the methodological approach with different platforms used for the identification and combination of immunological quantum for vaccine development. Current quantum vaccinomics platforms include in vitro, in music and in silico algorithms and top trends in biotechnology for the identification, characterization and combination of candidate protective epitopes. These platforms have been applied to different infectious diseases and in the future should target prevalent and emerging infectious diseases with novel algorithms.

The COVID-19 pandemic had cross-cutting impacts on planetary health, quotidian life, and society. Mass vaccination with the current gene-based vaccines has helped control the pandemic but unfortunately it has not shown effectiveness in preventing the spread of the virus. In addition, not all individuals respond to these vaccines, while others develop adverse reactions that cannot be neglected. It is also a fact that some individuals are more susceptible to infection while others develop effective immunization post-infection. We note here that the person-to-person and population variations in vaccine efficacy and side effects have been studied in the field of vaccinomics long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the field of adversomics examines the mechanisms of individual differences in the side effects of health interventions. In this review, we discuss the potential of a multi-omics approach for comprehensive profiling of the benefit/risk ratios of vaccines. Vaccinomics and adversomics stand to benefit planetary health and contribute to the prevention of future pandemics in the 21st century by offering precision guidance to clinical trials as well as promoting precision use of vaccines in ways that proactively respond to individual and population differences in their efficacy and safety. This vision of pandemic prevention based on personalized instead of mass vaccination also calls for equity in access to precision vaccines and diagnostics that support a vision and practice of vaccinomics and adversomics in planetary health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Ticks affect the health of humans and animals. In tropical African countries, cattle are threatened by ticks and the diseases they transmit, making necessary a tick control to avoid endangering the production of this industry. In this review, different vaccine candidates and different approaches are proposed as an environmentally friendly control alternative that can be included in the strategies of these countries to prevent tick-borne diseases their consequences. Ticks are worldwide ectoparasites to humans and animals, and are associated with numerous health and economic effects. Threatening over 80% of the global cattle population, tick and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) particularly constrain livestock production in the East, Central and Southern Africa. This, therefore, makes their control critical to the sustainability of the animal industry in the region. Since ticks are developing resistance against acaricides, anti-tick vaccines (ATVs) have been proposed as an environmentally friendly control alternative. Whereas they have been used in Latin America and Australia to reduce tick populations, pathogenic infections and number of acaricide treatments, commercially registered ATVs have not been adopted in tropical Africa for tick control. This is majorly due to their limited protection against economically important tick species of Africa and lack of research. Recent advances in various omics technologies and reverse vaccinology have enabled the identification of many candidate anti-tick antigens (ATAs), and are likely to usher in the next generation of vaccines, for which Africa should prepare to embrace. Herein, we highlight some scientific principles and approaches that have been used to identify ATAs, outline characteristics of a desirable ATA for vaccine design and propose the need for African governments to investment in ATV research to develop vaccines relevant to local tick species (personalized vaccines). We have also discussed the prospect of incorporating anti-tick vaccines into the integrated TTBDs control strategies in the sub-Saharan Africa, citing the case of Uganda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolomics is emerging as a promising tool to understand the effect of immunometabolism for the development of novel host-directed alternative therapies. Immunometabolism can modulate both innate and adaptive immunity in response to pathogens and vaccinations. For instance, infections can affect lipid and amino acid metabolism while vaccines can trigger bile acid and carbohydrate pathways. Metabolomics as a vaccinomics tool, can provide a broader picture of vaccine-induced biochemical changes and pave a path to potentiate the vaccine efficacy. Its integration with other systems biology tools or treatment modes can enhance the cure, response rate, and control over the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection can remodel the host metabolism for its survival, while there are many biochemical pathways that the host adjusts to combat the infection. Similarly, the anti-TB vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), was also found to affect the host metabolic pathways thus modulating immune responses. In this review, we highlight the metabolomic schema of the anti-TB vaccine and its therapeutic applications. Rewiring of immune metabolism upon BCG vaccination induces different signaling pathways which lead to epigenetic modifications underlying trained immunity. Metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, central carbon metabolism, and cholesterol synthesis play an important role in these aspects of immunity. Trained immunity and its applications are increasing day by day and it can be used to develop the next generation of vaccines to treat various other infections and orphan diseases. Our goal is to provide fresh insight into this direction and connect various dots to develop a conceptual framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite significant and coordinated efforts to combat schistosomiasis, such as providing clean water, sanitation, hygiene, and snail control, these strategies still fall short, as regions previously thought to be disease-free have shown active schistosomiasis transmission. Therefore, it is necessary to implement integrated control methods, emphasizing vaccine development for sustainable control of schistosomiasis. Vaccination has significantly contributed to global healthcare and has been the most economically friendly method for avoiding pathogenic infections. Over the years, different vaccine candidates for schistosomiasis have been investigated with varying degrees of success in clinical trials with many not proceeding past the early clinical phase. Recently, proteins have been mentioned as targets for drug discovery and vaccine development, especially those with multiple functions in schistosomes. Moonlighting proteins are a class of proteins that can perform several functions besides their known functions. This multifunctional property is believed to have been expressed through evolution, where the polypeptide chain gained the ability to perform other tasks without undergoing any structural changes. Since proteins have gained more traction as drug targets, multifunctional proteins have thus become attractive for discovering and developing novel drugs since the drug can target more than one function. Moonlighting proteins are promising drug and vaccine candidates for diseases such as schistosomiasis, since they aid in disease promotion in the human host. This manuscript elucidates vital moonlighting proteins used by schistosomes to drive their life cycle and to ensure their survival in the human host, which can be used to develop anti-schistosomal therapeutics and vaccinomics., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2024.)

Objective: We characterize public values regarding vaccinomics, which aims to improve vaccine safety and effectiveness using genomics. Methods: Panel survey (2020) of ≥18-year-olds with embedded animation introduced vaccinomics. Sociodemographic, health, and vaccination-related items were adapted from validated scales. Novel items measured trust in public health authorities, vaccinomics-related values, and preferences for federal funding: vaccinomics compared with vaccine issues and chronic diseases. Beginning and end of survey confidence in vaccine safety was measured to assess potential changes. Data were weighted to the U.S. Census. Vaccinomics-related concerns were stratified by sociodemographic characteristics, vaccine hesitancy status (composite outcome), reported serious vaccine reactions, and trust in public health authorities (PHA). Log binomial regression models estimated associations between these variables and agency to make vaccine-related decisions. Results: Most (70.7%, N = 1,925) respondents expected vaccinomics would increase their vaccine confidence compared to now. Agreement was highest among those without serious vaccine reaction experience (unexperienced: 74.2% versus experienced: 62.3%), with high trust in PHA (high: 83.3% versus low: 57.4%), and low vaccine hesitancy among parents of teenagers (low: 78.8% versus high: 62.5%) and adults without minor children (low: 79.8% versus high: 60.6%; all p

Mycobacterium smegmatis (M.sm) is frequently used as an alternative model organism in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) studies. While containing high sequence homology with M.tb, it is considered non-pathogenic in humans. As such it has been used to study M.tb and other infections in vivo and more recently been explored for potential therapeutic applications. A body of previous research has highlighted the potential of using genetically modified M.sm displaying rapid growth and unique immunostimulatory characteristics as an effective vaccine vector. Novel systems biology techniques can further serve to optimize these delivery constructs. In this article, we review recent advancements in vaccinomics tools that support the efficacy of a M.sm-based vaccine vector. Moreover, the integration of systems biology and molecular omics techniques in these pioneering studies heralds a potential accelerated pipeline for the development of next-generation recombinant vaccines against rapidly developing diseases.

Abstract Background The argasid tick Ornithodoros erraticus is the main vector of tick-borne human relapsing fever (TBRF) and African swine fever (ASF) in the Mediterranean Basin. Tick salivary proteins secreted to the host at the feeding interface play critical roles for tick feeding and may contribute to host infection by tick-borne pathogens; accordingly, these proteins represent interesting antigen targets for the development of vaccines aimed at the control and prevention of tick infestations and tick-borne diseases. Methods To identify these proteins, the transcriptome of the salivary glands of O. erraticus was de novo assembled and the salivary gene expression dynamics assessed throughout the trophogonic cycle using Illumina sequencing. The genes differentially upregulated after feeding were selected and discussed as potential antigen candidates for tick vaccines. Results Transcriptome assembly resulted in 22,007 transcripts and 18,961 annotated transcripts, which represent 86.15% of annotation success. Most salivary gene expression took place during the first 7 days after feeding (2088 upregulated transcripts), while only a few genes (122 upregulated transcripts) were differentially expressed from day 7 post-feeding onwards. The protein families more abundantly overrepresented after feeding were lipocalins, acid and basic tail proteins, proteases (particularly metalloproteases), protease inhibitors, secreted phospholipases A2, 5′-nucleotidases/apyrases and heme-binding vitellogenin-like proteins. All of them are functionally related to blood ingestion and regulation of host defensive responses, so they can be interesting candidate protective antigens for vaccines. Conclusions The O. erraticus sialotranscriptome contains thousands of protein coding sequences—many of them belonging to large conserved multigene protein families—and shows a complexity and functional redundancy similar to those observed in the sialomes of other argasid and ixodid tick species. This high functional redundancy emphasises the need for developing multiantigenic tick vaccines to reach full protection. This research provides a set of promising candidate antigens for the development of vaccines for the control of O. erraticus infestations and prevention of tick-borne diseases of public and veterinary health relevance, such as TBRF and ASF. Additionally, this transcriptome constitutes a valuable reference database for proteomics studies of the saliva and salivary glands of O. erraticus.

Ticks can seriously affect human and animal health around the globe, causing significant economic losses each year. Chemical acaricides are widely used to control ticks, which negatively impact the environment and result in the emergence of acaricide-resistant tick populations. A vaccine is considered as one of the best alternative approaches to control ticks and tick-borne diseases, as it is less expensive and more effective than chemical controls. Many antigen-based vaccines have been developed as a result of current advances in transcriptomics, genomics, and proteomic techniques. A few of these (e.g., Gavac® and TickGARD®) are commercially available and are commonly used in different countries. Furthermore, a significant number of novel antigens are being investigated with the perspective of developing new anti-tick vaccines. However, more research is required to develop new and more efficient antigen-based vaccines, including on assessing the efficiency of various epitopes against different tick species to confirm their cross-reactivity and their high immunogenicity. In this review, we discuss the recent advancements in the development of antigen-based vaccines (traditional and RNA-based) and provide a brief overview of recent discoveries of novel antigens, along with their sources, characteristics, and the methods used to test their efficiency.

Vaccines are a major achievement in medical sciences, but the development of more effective vaccines against infectious diseases is essential for prevention and control of emerging pathogens worldwide. The application of omics technologies has advanced vaccinology through the characterization of host-vector-pathogen molecular interactions and the identification of candidate protective antigens. However, major challenges such as host immunity, pathogen and environmental factors, vaccine efficacy and safety need to be addressed. Vaccinomics provides a platform to address these challenges and improve vaccine efficacy and safety. In this review, we summarize current information on vaccinomics and propose quantum vaccinomics approaches to further advance vaccine development through the identification and combination of antigen protective epitopes, the immunological quantum. The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is an example of emerging infectious diseases with global impact on human health. Vaccines are required for the effective and environmentally sustainable intervention for the control of emerging infectious diseases worldwide. Recent advances in vaccinomics provide a platform to address challenges in improving vaccine efficacy and implementation. As proposed here, quantum vaccinomics will contribute to vaccine development, efficacy, and safety by facilitating antigen combinations to target pathogen infection and transmission in emerging infectious diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumen: La vacunación es el medio más efectivo para controlar la morbilidad y mortalidad relacionadas con enfermedades infecciosas. Para lograr esto, necesitamos vacunas inmunogénicas y seguras que faciliten y mejoren sus condiciones de transporte, almacenamiento y administración. Gracias a los avances en inmunología y bioinformática, es posible impulsar el descubrimiento de nuevas vacunas para enfrentar la tuberculosis, el virus respiratorio sincicial, el Streptococcus agalactiae, la enfermedad meningocócica invasora, entre otros. Así también, nuevas tecnologías, como la producción de vacunas utilizando plantas transgénicas y parches de microagujas, los cuales podrían facilitar la producción, disminuir los costos y efectos adversos. Sin embargo, no solo necesitamos las vacunas, sino que debemos conocer la epidemiología de las enfermedades prevenibles con vacuna para tomar decisiones fundadas, con el objetivo de planificar estrategias sanitarias, medir su impacto y evaluar la seguridad de su utilización, para alcanzar las metas de salud pública y la confianza de la población. Summary: Vaccination is the most effective strategy to avoid morbidity and mortality related to infectious diseases. To achieve this, we need immunogenic and safe vaccines that facilitate and improve its transport, storage and administration conditions. Thanks to current advances in immunology and bioinformatics, it is possible to boost the discovery of new vaccines to deal with tuberculosis, the respiratory syncytial virus, Streptococcus agalactiae, meningococcal invasive disease, among others. In addition to new technologies such as the production of plant-based vaccines, and microneedles patches, which can facilitate its production, reducing costs and adverse effects. However, vaccines is not the only thing that we need, because we must know the epidemiology and burden of disease to take informed decisions to design optimal strategies, measuring their impact and assessing the safety of their use in order to achieve the goals health and population confidence.

Metabolomics is emerging as a promising tool to understand the effect of immunometabolism for the development of novel host-directed alternative therapies. Immunometabolism can modulate both innate and adaptive immunity in response to pathogens and vaccinations. For instance, infections can affect lipid and amino acid metabolism while vaccines can trigger bile acid and carbohydrate pathways. Metabolomics as a vaccinomics tool, can provide a broader picture of vaccine-induced biochemical changes and pave a path to potentiate the vaccine efficacy. Its integration with other systems biology tools or treatment modes can enhance the cure, response rate, and control over the emergence of drug-resistant strains. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection can remodel the host metabolism for its survival, while there are many biochemical pathways that the host adjusts to combat the infection. Similarly, the anti-TB vaccine, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), was also found to affect the host metabolic pathways thus modulating immune responses. In this review, we highlight the metabolomic schema of the anti-TB vaccine and its therapeutic applications. Rewiring of immune metabolism upon BCG vaccination induces different signaling pathways which lead to epigenetic modifications underlying trained immunity. Metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, central carbon metabolism, and cholesterol synthesis play an important role in these aspects of immunity. Trained immunity and its applications are increasing day by day and it can be used to develop the next generation of vaccines to treat various other infections and orphan diseases. Our goal is to provide fresh insight into this direction and connect various dots to develop a conceptual framework.

Ticks are worldwide ectoparasites to humans and animals, and are associated with numerous health and economic effects. Threatening over 80% of the global cattle population, tick and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) particularly constrain livestock production in the East, Central and Southern Africa. This, therefore, makes their control critical to the sustainability of the animal industry in the region. Since ticks are developing resistance against acaricides, anti-tick vaccines (ATVs) have been proposed as an environmentally friendly control alternative. Whereas they have been used in Latin America and Australia to reduce tick populations, pathogenic infections and number of acaricide treatments, commercially registered ATVs have not been adopted in tropical Africa for tick control. This is majorly due to their limited protection against economically important tick species of Africa and lack of research. Recent advances in various omics technologies and reverse vaccinology have enabled the identification of many candidate anti-tick antigens (ATAs), and are likely to usher in the next generation of vaccines, for which Africa should prepare to embrace. Herein, we highlight some scientific principles and approaches that have been used to identify ATAs, outline characteristics of a desirable ATA for vaccine design and propose the need for African governments to investment in ATV research to develop vaccines relevant to local tick species (personalized vaccines). We have also discussed the prospect of incorporating anti-tick vaccines into the integrated TTBDs control strategies in the sub-Saharan Africa, citing the case of Uganda.

The COVID-19 pandemic had cross-cutting impacts on planetary health, quotidian life, and society. Mass vaccination with the current gene-based vaccines has helped control the pandemic but unfortunately it has not shown effectiveness in preventing the spread of the virus. In addition, not all individuals respond to these vaccines, while others develop adverse reactions that cannot be neglected. It is also a fact that some individuals are more susceptible to infection while others develop effective immunization post-infection. We note here that the person-to-person and population variations in vaccine efficacy and side effects have been studied in the field of vaccinomics long before the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the field of adversomics examines the mechanisms of individual differences in the side effects of health interventions. In this review, we discuss the potential of a multi-omics approach for comprehensive profiling of the benefit/risk ratios of vaccines. Vaccinomics and adversomics stand to benefit planetary health and contribute to the prevention of future pandemics in the 21st century by offering precision guidance to clinical trials as well as promoting precision use of vaccines in ways that proactively respond to individual and population differences in their efficacy and safety. This vision of pandemic prevention based on personalized instead of mass vaccination also calls for equity in access to precision vaccines and diagnostics that support a vision and practice of vaccinomics and adversomics in planetary health.

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Methodological approaches for anti-tick vaccine development The identification of candidate tick protective antigens is a major challenge for the development of effective anti-tick vaccines. Keywords: tick; vaccine; pathogen; vaccinomics; Subolesin EN tick vaccine pathogen vaccinomics Subolesin 1019 1021 3 08/16/22 20220801 NES 220801 1. Additionally, modeling tick vaccines is also a key tool to improve the effectiveness of vaccines for the control of tick infestations and pathogen infection/transmission. [Extracted from the article]

The Ninth Interactive Infectious Disease workshop TIPICO was held on November 22–23, 2018, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. This 2-day academic experience addressed current and topical issues in the field of infectious diseases and vaccination. Summary findings of the meeting include: cervical cancer elimination will be possible in the future, thanks to the implementation of global vaccination action plans in combination with appropriate screening interventions. The introduction of appropriate immunization programs is key to maintain the success of current effective vaccines such as those against meningococcal disease or rotavirus infection. Additionally, reduced dose schedules might improve the efficiency of some vaccines (i.e., PCV13). New vaccines to improve current preventive alternatives are under development (e.g., against tuberculosis or influenza virus), while others to protect against infectious diseases with no current available vaccines (e.g., enterovirus, parechovirus and flaviviruses) need to be developed. Vaccinomics will be fundamental in this process, while infectomics will allow the application of precision medicine. Further research is also required to understand the impact of heterologous vaccine effects. Finally, vaccination requires education at all levels (individuals, community, healthcare professionals) to ensure its success by helping to overcome major barriers such as vaccine hesitancy and false contraindications.

Background: The argasid tick Ornithodoros erraticus is the main vector of tick-borne human relapsing fever (TBRF) and African swine fever (ASF) in the Mediterranean Basin. Tick salivary proteins secreted to the host at the feeding interface play critical roles for tick feeding and may contribute to host infection by tick-borne pathogens; accordingly, these proteins represent interesting antigen targets for the development of vaccines aimed at the control and prevention of tick infestations and tick-borne diseases. Methods: To identify these proteins, the transcriptome of the salivary glands of O. erraticus was de novo assembled and the salivary gene expression dynamics assessed throughout the trophogonic cycle using Illumina sequencing. The genes differentially upregulated after feeding were selected and discussed as potential antigen candidates for tick vaccines. Results: Transcriptome assembly resulted in 22,007 transcripts and 18,961 annotated transcripts, which represent 86.15% of annotation success. Most salivary gene expression took place during the first 7 days after feeding (2088 upregulated transcripts), while only a few genes (122 upregulated transcripts) were differentially expressed from day 7 post-feeding onwards. The protein families more abundantly overrepresented after feeding were lipocalins, acid and basic tail proteins, proteases (particularly metalloproteases), protease inhibitors, secreted phospholipases A2, 5′-nucleotidases/apyrases and heme-binding vitellogenin-like proteins. All of them are functionally related to blood ingestion and regulation of host defensive responses, so they can be interesting candidate protective antigens for vaccines. Conclusions: The O. erraticus sialotranscriptome contains thousands of protein coding sequences—many of them belonging to large conserved multigene protein families—and shows a complexity and functional redundancy similar to those observed in the sialomes of other argasid and ixodid tick species. This high functional redundancy emphasises the need for developing multiantigenic tick vaccines to reach full protection. This research provides a set of promising candidate antigens for the development of vaccines for the control of O. erraticus infestations and prevention of tick-borne diseases of public and veterinary health relevance, such as TBRF and ASF. Additionally, this transcriptome constitutes a valuable reference database for proteomics studies of the saliva and salivary glands of O. erraticus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marburg virus is one of the world's most threatening diseases, causing extreme hemorrhagic fever, with a death rate of up to 90%. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently not authorized any treatments or vaccinations for the hindrance and post-exposure of the Marburg virus. In the present study, the vaccinomics methodology was adopted to design a potential novel peptide vaccine against the Marburg virus, targeting RNA-directed RNA polymerase (l). A total of 48 l-proteins from diverse variants of the Marburg virus were collected from the NCBI GenBank server and used to classify the best antigenic protein leading to predict equally T and B-cell epitopes. Initially, the top 26 epitopes were evaluated for the attraction with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II alleles. Finally, four prospective central epitopes NLSDLTFLI, FRYEFTRHF, YRLRNSTAL, and YRVRNVQTL were carefully chosen. Among these, FRYEFTRHF and YRVRNVQTL peptides showed 100% conservancy. Though YRLRNSTAL showed 95.74% conservancy, it demonstrated the highest combined score as T cell epitope (2.5461) and population coverage of 94.42% among the whole world population. The epitope was found non-allergenic, and docking interactions with human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) also verified. Finally, in vivo analysis of the recommended peptides might contribute to the advancement of an efficient and exclusively prevalent vaccine that would be an active route to impede the virus spreading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recurrent and recent global outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has turned into a global concern which has infected more than 42 million people all over the globe, and this number is increasing in hours. Unfortunately, no vaccine or specific treatment is available, which makes it more deadly. A vaccine-informatics approach has shown significant breakthrough in peptide-based epitope mapping and opens the new horizon in vaccine development. In this study, we have identified a total of 15 antigenic peptides [including thymus cells (T-cells) and bone marrow or bursa-derived cells] in the surface glycoprotein (SG) of SARS-CoV-2 which is nontoxic and nonallergenic in nature, nonallergenic, highly antigenic and non-mutated in other SARS-CoV-2 virus strains. The population coverage analysis has found that cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4+) T-cell peptides showed higher cumulative population coverage over cluster of differentiation 8 (CD8+) peptides in the 16 different geographical regions of the world. We identified 12 peptides ((LTDEMIAQY, WTAGAAAYY, WMESEFRVY, IRASANLAA, FGAISSVLN, VKQLSSNFG, FAMQMAYRF, FGAGAALQI, YGFQPTNGVGYQ, LPDPSKPSKR, QTQTNSPRRARS and VITPGTNTSN) that are |$80\hbox{--} 90\%$| identical with experimentally determined epitopes of SARS-CoV, and this will likely be beneficial for a quick progression of the vaccine design. Moreover, docking analysis suggested that the identified peptides are tightly bound in the groove of human leukocyte antigen molecules which can induce the T-cell response. Overall, this study allows us to determine potent peptide antigen targets in the SG on intuitive grounds, which opens up a new horizon in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) research. However, this study needs experimental validation by in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guillain-Barré Syndrome Following Influenza Vaccines Affords Opportunity to Improve Vaccine Confidence. Guillain-Barré syndrome, influenza vaccine, vaccine safety, vaccine hesitancy, vaccine confidence, adversomics, vaccinomics. [Extracted from the article]

Ticks represent a major concern for society worldwide. Ticks are also difficult to control, and vaccines represent the most efficacious, safe, economically feasible and environmentally sustainable intervention. The evolution of tick vaccinology has been driven by multiple challenges such as (1) Ticks are difficult to control, (2) Vaccines control tick infestations by reducing ectoparasite fitness and reproduction, (3) Vaccine efficacy against multiple tick species, (4) Impact of tick strain genetic diversity on vaccine efficacy, (5) Antigen combination to improve vaccine efficacy, (6) Vaccine formulations and delivery platforms and (7) Combination of vaccines with transgenesis and paratransgenesis. Tick vaccine antigens evolved from organ protein extracts to recombinant proteins to chimera designed by vaccinomics and quantum vaccinomics. Future directions will advance in these areas together with other novel technologies such as multiomics, AI and Big Data, mRNA vaccines, microbiota-driven probiotics and vaccines, and combination of vaccines with other interventions in collaboration with regions with high incidence of tick infestations and tick-borne diseases for a personalized medicine approach.

Introduction: The incidence of tick-borne diseases (TBDs) is growing worldwide, and vaccines appear as the most effective and environmentally sound intervention for the prevention and control of TBDs. Areas covered: The vaccinomics approach combines omics technologies and bioinformatics for the characterization of tick-host-pathogen molecular interactions and the development of next-generation vaccines. The two main challenges of the vaccinomics approach are the integration and analysis of omics datasets, and the development of screening platforms for the identification of candidate protective antigens. To address these challenges we propose the application of intelligent Big Data analytic techniques for the high throughput discovery and characterization of tick and pathogen derived candidate vaccine protective antigens. Expert commentary: This innovative approach should improve the development and efficacy of vaccines for the control and prevention of TBDs.

The number of patients affected by chronic diseases with special vaccination needs is burgeoning. In this scenario, predictive markers of immunogenicity, as well as signatures of immune responses are typically missing even though it would especially improve the identification of personalized immunization practices in these populations. We aimed to develop a predictive score of immunogenicity to Influenza Trivalent Inactivated Vaccination (TIV) by applying deep machine learning algorithms using transcriptional data from sort-purified lymphocyte subsets after in vitro stimulation. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected before TIV from 23 vertically HIV infected children under ART and virally controlled were stimulated in vitro with p09/H1N1 peptides (stim) or left unstimulated (med). A multiplexed-qPCR for 96 genes was made on fixed numbers of 3 B cell subsets, 3 T cell subsets and total PBMCs. The ability to respond to TIV was assessed through hemagglutination Inhibition Assay (HIV) and ELIspot and patients were classified as Responders (R) and Non Responders (NR). A predictive modeling framework was applied to the data set in order to define genes and conditions with the higher predicted probability able to inform the final score. Twelve NR and 11 R were analyzed for gene expression differences in all subsets and 3 conditions [med, stim or Δ (stim-med)]. Differentially expressed genes between R and NR were selected and tested with the Adaptive Boosting Model to build a prediction score. The score obtained from subsets revealed the best prediction score from 46 genes from 5 different subsets and conditions. Calculating a combined score based on these 5 categories, we achieved a model accuracy of 95.6% and only one misclassified patient. These data show how a predictive bioinformatic model applied to transcriptional analysis deriving from in-vitro stimulated lymphocytes subsets may predict poor or protective vaccination immune response in vulnerable populations, such as HIV-infected individuals. Future studies on larger cohorts are needed to validate such strategy in the context of vaccination trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious Bursal Disease Virus (IBDV) causes Gumboro disease, the virus is widely prevalent in Iraq especially vvIBDV strains which are refractory to vaccines. In this study epitope vaccine for cellular immunity were designed using vaccinomics approach. Many MCH I epitopes were obtained, only three were satisfy the requirements: 9- SQYQGGVTI-17, 45- LVLGATIYL-53, 77- NLMPFNIVI-85, tow MHC II epitopes were obtained: 145- VATGSVVTVAGVSNF-159, 206- EYTDFREYFMEVADL-220. MHC I epitopes were docked with available chicken molecules obtained from pdb database, most of them were docked with good binding affinity and RMSD value of zero using Autodock vina. F MHC II only fist epitope was docked with available B-L allele (6kvm), the second was unable to dock, might be due to their secondary structure which was mainly as α-helix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Médica Clínica Las Condes is the property of Editorial Sanchez y Barcelo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An effective vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus infection is a major planetary heath priority, particularly with increasing antibiotic resistance worldwide. Previous efforts for a highly effective S. aureus vaccine were largely unsuccessful, in part, because the vaccine designs have tended to target mainly the B cell immunity and development of opsonic antibodies. In contrast, recent observations suggest that cell mediated immunity may be critical for protection against S. aureus. In addition, the S. aureus surface proteins are among the key immunodominant antigens because they are the first molecules to interact with the host organism cells and tissues. We report here an original vaccinomics study in which we used a reverse vaccinology and immunoinformatics in silico strategy integrated with genomics. After analyzing 2767 proteins, we defined 16 proteins of S. aureus as promising subunit vaccine candidates. Phosphatidylinositol phosphodiesterase (Plc) is secreted by extracellular pathogens such as S. aureus. We mapped the B and T cell epitopes for the Plc protein, tested the reactivity of the synthesized epitopes by Western blotting, and verified our findings in a pilot study of 10 patients with S. aureus infection. The peptides were then tested for their protective effect in groups of mice challenged with pathogenic S. aureus strain, which showed high protection level. These findings warrant further translational research for development of novel vaccines against S. aureus infection. Reverse vaccinology is an advanced approach that can be applied to identify new vaccine candidates against a host of microorganisms, including S. aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moraxella catarrhalis (M. catarrhalis) is a Gram-negative bacterium that can cause serious respiratory tract infections and middle ear infections in children and adults. M. catarrhalis has demonstrated an increasing rate of antibiotic resistance in the last few years, thus development of an effective vaccine is a major health priority. We report here a novel designed multitope vaccine based on the mapped epitopes of the vaccine candidates filtered out of the whole proteome of M. catarrhalis. After analysis of 1615 proteins using a reverse vaccinology approach, only two proteins (outer membrane protein assembly factor BamA and LPS assembly protein LptD) were nominated as potential vaccine candidates. These proteins were found to be essential, outer membrane, virulent and non-human homologs with appropriate molecular weight and high antigenicity score. For each protein, cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), helper T lymphocyte (HTL) and B cell lymphocyte (BCL) epitopes were predicted and confirmed to be highly antigenic and cover conserved regions of the proteins. The mapped epitopes constituted the base of the designed multitope vaccine where suitable linkers were added to conjugate them. Additionally, beta defensin adjuvant and pan-HLA DR-binding epitope (PADRE) peptide were also incorporated into the construct to improve the stimulated immune response. The constructed multitope vaccine was analyzed for its physicochemical, structural and immunological characteristics and it was found to be antigenic, soluble, stable, non-allergenic and have a high affinity to its target receptor. Although the in silico analysis of the current study revealed that the designed multitope vaccine has the ability to trigger a specific immune response against M. catarrhalis, additional translational research is required to confirm the effectiveness of the designed vaccine.

Elderly individuals have the highest burden of disease from influenza infection but also the lowest immune response to influenza vaccination. A better understanding of the host response to influenza vaccination in the elderly is therefore urgently needed. We conducted a biphasic prospective, population-based study from Dec. 2014 to May 2015 (pilot study) and Sept. 2015 to May 2016 (main study). Individuals 65–80 y of age were randomly selected from the residents' registration office in Hannover, Germany, for the pilot (n = 34) and main study (n = 200). The pilot study tested recruitment for study arms featuring 2, 4, or 5 visits/blood draws. The 5-visit (day 0, 1/3, 7, 21, 70 with respect to vaccination) study arm was selected for the main study. Both studies featured vaccination with Fluad™ (Novartis, Italy), a detailed medical history, a physical exam, recording of adverse events, completion of a questionnaire on common infections and an end-of-study questionnaire, and blood samples. Response rates in the pilot and main studies were 3.7% and 4.0%, respectively. Willingness to participate did not differ among the study arms (Fisher's exact test, p = 0.44). In both studies, there were no losses to follow-up. Compliance with study visits, blood sampling and completion of the questionnaires was very high (100%, >97%, 100%, respectively), as were participants' acceptance of and satisfaction with both phases of the study. The low response rates indicate the need for optimized recruitment strategies if the study population is to be representative of the general population. Nonetheless, the complex prospective study design proved to be highly feasible.

Background: Sex differences in immune responses to influenza vaccine may impact efficacy across populations.Methods: In a cohort of 138 older adults (50–74 years old), we measured influenza A/H1N1 antibody titers, B-cell ELISPOT response, PBMC transcriptomics, and PBMC cell compositions at 0, 3, and 28 days post-immunization with the 2010/11 seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine.Results: We identified higher B-cell ELISPOT responses in females than males. Potential mechanisms for sex effects were identified in four gene clusters related to T, NK, and B cells. Mediation analysis indicated that sex-dependent expression in T and NK cell genes can be partially attributed to higher CD4+ T cell and lower NK cell fractions in females. We identified strong sex effects in 135 B cell genes whose expression correlates with ELISPOT measures, and found that cell subset differences did not explain the effect of sex on these genes' expression. Post-vaccination expression of these genes, however, mediated 41% of the sex effect on ELISPOT responses.Conclusions: These results improve our understanding of sexual dimorphism in immunity and influenza vaccine response.

Background: Melanoma is the most fatal kind of skin cancer. Among its various types, cutaneous melanoma is the most prevalent one. Melanoma cells are thought to be highly immunogenic due to the presence of distinct tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), which includes carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer/testis antigens (CTAs) and neo-antigens. The CTA family is a group of antigens that are only expressed in malignancies and testicular germ cells., Methods: We used integrative framework and systems-level analysis to predict potential vaccine candidates for cutaneous melanoma involving epitopes prediction, molecular modeling and molecular docking to cross-validate the binding affinity and interaction between potential vaccine agents and major histocompatibility molecules (MHCs) followed by molecular dynamics simulation, immune simulation and in silico cloning., Results: In this study, three cancer/testis antigens were targeted for immunotherapy of cutaneous melanoma. Among many CTAs that were studied for their expression in primary and malignant melanoma, NY-ESO-1, MAGE1 and SSX2 antigens are most prevalent in cutaneous melanoma. Cytotoxic and Helper epitopes were predicted, and the finest epitopes were shortlisted based on binding score. The vaccine construct was composed of the four epitope-rich domains of antigenic proteins, an appropriate adjuvant, His tag and linkers. This potential multi-epitope vaccine was further evaluated in terms of antigenicity, allergencity, toxicity and other physicochemical properties. Molecular interaction estimated through protein-protein docking unveiled good interactions characterized by favorable binding energies. Molecular dynamics simulation ensured the stability of docked complex and the predicted immune response through immune simulation revealed elevated levels of antibodies titer, cytokines, interleukins and immune cells (NK, DC and MA) population., Conclusion: The findings indicate that the potential vaccine candidates could be effective immunotherapeutic agents that modify the treatment strategies of cutaneous melanoma., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Vaccines are one of the most important medical advancements in human history. They have been successfully used to control and limit the spread of many of the lethal diseases that have plagued us, such as smallpox and polio. Previous vaccine design methodologies were based on the model of "isolate-inactivateinject", which amounts to giving the same vaccine dose to everyone susceptible to infection. In recent years, the importance of how the host genetic background alters vaccine response necessitated the introduction of vaccinomics, which is aimed at studying the variability of vaccine efficacy by associating genetic variability and immune response to vaccination. Despite the rapid developments in variant screening, data obtained from association studies is often inconclusive and cannot be used to guide the new generation of vaccines. This review aims to compile the polymorphisms in HLA and immune system genes and examine the link with their immune response to vaccination. The compiled data can be used to guide the development of new strategies for vaccination for vulnerable groups. Overall, the highly polymorphic HLA locus had the highest correlation with vaccine response variability for most of the studied vaccines, and it was linked to variation in multiple stages of the immune response to the vaccines for both humoral and cellular immunity. Designing new vaccine technologies and immunization regiments to accommodate for this variability is an important step for reaching a vaccinomics-based approach to vaccination., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

The paper discusses the techniques which are currently implemented for vaccine production based on virus-like particles (VLPs). The factors which determine the characteristics of VLP monomers assembly are provided in detail. Analysis of the literature demonstrates that the development of the techniques of VLP production and immobilization of target antigens on their surface have led to the development of universal platforms which make it possible for virtually any known antigen to be exposed on the particle surface in a highly concentrated form. As a result, the focus of attention has shifted from the approaches to VLP production to the development of a precise interface between the organism's immune system and the peptides inducing a strong immune response to pathogens or the organism's own pathological cells. Immunome-specified methods for vaccine design and the prospects of immunoprophylaxis are discussed. Certain examples of vaccines against viral diseases and cancers are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]