1
|
Zareein A, Mahmoudi M, Jadhav SS, Wilmore J, Wu Y. Biomaterial engineering strategies for B cell immunity modulations. Biomater Sci 2024; 12:1981-2006. [PMID: 38456305 PMCID: PMC11019864 DOI: 10.1039/d3bm01841e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
B cell immunity has a penetrating effect on human health and diseases. Therapeutics aiming to modulate B cell immunity have achieved remarkable success in combating infections, autoimmunity, and malignancies. However, current treatments still face significant limitations in generating effective long-lasting therapeutic B cell responses for many conditions. As the understanding of B cell biology has deepened in recent years, clearer regulation networks for B cell differentiation and antibody production have emerged, presenting opportunities to overcome current difficulties and realize the full therapeutic potential of B cell immunity. Biomaterial platforms have been developed to leverage these emerging concepts to augment therapeutic humoral immunity by facilitating immunogenic reagent trafficking, regulating T cell responses, and modulating the immune microenvironment. Moreover, biomaterial engineering tools have also advanced our understanding of B cell biology, further expediting the development of novel therapeutics. In this review, we will introduce the general concept of B cell immunobiology and highlight key biomaterial engineering strategies in the areas including B cell targeted antigen delivery, sustained B cell antigen delivery, antigen engineering, T cell help optimization, and B cell suppression. We will also discuss our perspective on future biomaterial engineering opportunities to leverage humoral immunity for therapeutics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ali Zareein
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
- The BioInspired Institute for Material and Living Systems, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Mina Mahmoudi
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
- The BioInspired Institute for Material and Living Systems, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Shruti Sunil Jadhav
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
| | - Joel Wilmore
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Yaoying Wu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
- The BioInspired Institute for Material and Living Systems, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Besavilla DF, Reusch L, Enriquez J, Schön K, Angeletti D. Pre-existing CD4 T cell help boosts antibody responses but has limited impact on germinal center, antigen-specific B cell frequencies after influenza infection. Front Immunol 2023; 14:1243164. [PMID: 37711622 PMCID: PMC10499173 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1243164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The influenza virus is a persistent burden on global health, with seasonal vaccines providing incomplete protection. CD4+ T cells help shape B cell and antibody responses; however, the selectivity of help and the effect on various antigen-specific B cell populations have not been fully elucidated. Here, we studied the specificity, selectivity, and influence of nucleoprotein (NP) CD4+ T cells on the magnitude and quality of hemagglutinin (HA) and NP-specific B cells and antibody responses. We identified immunodominant peptides and showed that peptide immunization was sufficient to induce CD4+ cells with Th1 and Tfh phenotypes. Surprisingly, while preexisting CD4+ T cells enhanced the influx of total germinal center (GC) B cells in the mediastinal lymph node after infection, this was not reflected by an increase in the frequency of antigen-specific cells within the GC. Furthermore, we demonstrated that NP-specific help was able to accelerate the kinetics and magnitude of the Ab response for NP but not for HA. Overall, our results showed that pre-existing CD4+ T cells provide strong cognate help during immunization or infection to enhance Ab production but not antigen-specific GC or memory B cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danica F. Besavilla
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Laura Reusch
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Josue Enriquez
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Karin Schön
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Davide Angeletti
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- SciLifeLab, Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Sanchez MV, Ebensen T, Schulze K, Cargnelutti DE, Scodeller EA, Guzmán CA. Protective Efficacy of a Mucosal Influenza Vaccine Formulation Based on the Recombinant Nucleoprotein Co-Administered with a TLR2/6 Agonist BPPcysMPEG. Pharmaceutics 2023; 15:pharmaceutics15030912. [PMID: 36986773 PMCID: PMC10057018 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15030912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Current influenza vaccines target highly variable surface glycoproteins; thus, mismatches between vaccine strains and circulating strains often diminish vaccine protection. For this reason, there is still a critical need to develop effective influenza vaccines able to protect also against the drift and shift of different variants of influenza viruses. It has been demonstrated that influenza nucleoprotein (NP) is a strong candidate for a universal vaccine, which contributes to providing cross-protection in animal models. In this study, we developed an adjuvanted mucosal vaccine using the recombinant NP (rNP) and the TLR2/6 agonist S-[2,3-bispalmitoyiloxy-(2R)-propyl]-R-cysteinyl-amido-monomethoxyl-poly-ethylene-glycol (BPPcysMPEG). The vaccine efficacy was compared with that observed following parenteral vaccination of mice with the same formulation. Mice vaccinated with 2 doses of rNP alone or co-administered with BPPcysMPEG by the intranasal (i.n.) route showed enhanced antigen-specific humoral and cellular responses. Moreover, NP-specific humoral immune responses, characterized by significant NP-specific IgG and IgG subclass titers in sera and NP-specific IgA titers in mucosal territories, were remarkably increased in mice vaccinated with the adjuvanted formulation as compared with those of the non-adjuvanted vaccination group. The addition of BPPcysMPEG also improved NP-specific cellular responses in vaccinated mice, characterized by robust lymphoproliferation and mixed Th1/Th2/Th17 immune profiles. Finally, it is notable that the immune responses elicited by the novel formulation administered by the i.n. route were able to confer protection against the influenza H1N1 A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 virus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Victoria Sanchez
- Laboratorio de Inmunología y Desarrollo de Vacunas, Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo (IMBECU), CCT-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza M5500, Argentina; (M.V.S.); (D.E.C.); (E.A.S.)
- Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (T.E.); (K.S.)
| | - Thomas Ebensen
- Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (T.E.); (K.S.)
| | - Kai Schulze
- Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (T.E.); (K.S.)
| | - Diego Esteban Cargnelutti
- Laboratorio de Inmunología y Desarrollo de Vacunas, Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo (IMBECU), CCT-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza M5500, Argentina; (M.V.S.); (D.E.C.); (E.A.S.)
| | - Eduardo A. Scodeller
- Laboratorio de Inmunología y Desarrollo de Vacunas, Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo (IMBECU), CCT-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza M5500, Argentina; (M.V.S.); (D.E.C.); (E.A.S.)
| | - Carlos A. Guzmán
- Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; (T.E.); (K.S.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-531-61814600; Fax: +49-531-618414699
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Fox-Fisher I, Piyanzin S, Ochana BL, Klochendler A, Magenheim J, Peretz A, Loyfer N, Moss J, Cohen D, Drori Y, Friedman N, Mandelboim M, Rothenberg ME, Caldwell JM, Rochman M, Jamshidi A, Cann G, Lavi D, Kaplan T, Glaser B, Shemer R, Dor Y. Remote immune processes revealed by immune-derived circulating cell-free DNA. eLife 2021; 10:70520. [PMID: 34842142 PMCID: PMC8651286 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Blood cell counts often fail to report on immune processes occurring in remote tissues. Here, we use immune cell type-specific methylation patterns in circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for studying human immune cell dynamics. We characterized cfDNA released from specific immune cell types in healthy individuals (N = 242), cross sectionally and longitudinally. Immune cfDNA levels had no individual steady state as opposed to blood cell counts, suggesting that cfDNA concentration reflects adjustment of cell survival to maintain homeostatic cell numbers. We also observed selective elevation of immune-derived cfDNA upon perturbations of immune homeostasis. Following influenza vaccination (N = 92), B-cell-derived cfDNA levels increased prior to elevated B-cell counts and predicted efficacy of antibody production. Patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (N = 21) and B-cell lymphoma (N = 27) showed selective elevation of eosinophil and B-cell cfDNA, respectively, which were undetectable by cell counts in blood. Immune-derived cfDNA provides a novel biomarker for monitoring immune responses to physiological and pathological processes that are not accessible using conventional methods.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilana Fox-Fisher
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sheina Piyanzin
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Bracha Lea Ochana
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Agnes Klochendler
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Judith Magenheim
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ayelet Peretz
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Netanel Loyfer
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Joshua Moss
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Daniel Cohen
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yaron Drori
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel, and Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Nehemya Friedman
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel, and Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Michal Mandelboim
- Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel, and Central Virology Laboratory, Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Marc E Rothenberg
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, United States
| | - Julie M Caldwell
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, United States
| | - Mark Rochman
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, United States
| | | | | | - David Lavi
- Department of Hematology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Tommy Kaplan
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Benjamin Glaser
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Service, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ruth Shemer
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yuval Dor
- Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research, Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Swain SL, Jones MC, Devarajan P, Xia J, Dutton RW, Strutt TM, McKinstry KK. Durable CD4 T-Cell Memory Generation Depends on Persistence of High Levels of Infection at an Effector Checkpoint that Determines Multiple Fates. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2021; 13:a038182. [PMID: 33903157 PMCID: PMC8559547 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a038182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
We have discovered that the determination of CD4 effector and memory fates after infection is regulated not only by initial signals from antigen and pathogen recognition, but also by a second round of such signals at a checkpoint during the effector response. Signals to effectors determine their subsequent fate, inducing further progression to tissue-restricted follicular helpers, cytotoxic CD4 effectors, and long-lived memory cells. The follicular helpers help the germinal center B-cell responses that give rise to high-affinity long-lived antibody responses and memory B cells that synergize with T-cell memory to provide robust long-lived protection. We postulate that inactivated vaccines do not provide extended signals from antigen and pathogen beyond a few days, and thus elicit ineffective CD4 T- and B-cell effector responses and memory. Defining the mechanisms that underlie effective responses should provide insights necessary to develop vaccine strategies that induce more effective and durable immunity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Susan L Swain
- Department of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA
| | - Michael C Jones
- Department of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA
| | - Priyadharshini Devarajan
- Department of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA
| | - Jingya Xia
- Department of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA
| | - Richard W Dutton
- Department of Pathology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Ave, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655, USA
| | - Tara M Strutt
- Immunity and Pathogenesis Division, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32827, USA
| | - K Kai McKinstry
- Immunity and Pathogenesis Division, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida 32827, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Fallet B, Hao Y, Florova M, Cornille K, de Los Aires AV, Girelli Zubani G, Ertuna YI, Greiff V, Menzel U, Hammad K, Merkler D, Reddy ST, Weill JC, Reynaud CA, Pinschewer DD. Chronic Viral Infection Promotes Efficient Germinal Center B Cell Responses. Cell Rep 2020; 30:1013-1026.e7. [PMID: 31995746 PMCID: PMC6996002 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.12.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent viral infections subvert key elements of adaptive immunity. To compare germinal center (GC) B cell responses in chronic and acute lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection, we exploit activation-induced deaminase (AID) fate-reporter mice and perform adoptive B cell transfer experiments. Chronic infection yields GC B cell responses of higher cellularity than acute infections do, higher memory B cell and antibody secreting cell output for longer periods of time, a better representation of the late B cell repertoire in serum immunoglobulin, and higher titers of protective neutralizing antibodies. GC B cells of chronically infected mice are similarly hypermutated as those emerging from acute infection. They efficiently adapt to viral escape variants and even in hypermutation-impaired AID mutant mice, chronic infection selects for GC B cells with hypermutated B cell receptors (BCRs) and neutralizing antibody formation. These findings demonstrate that, unlike for CD8+ T cells, chronic viral infection drives a functional, productive, and protective GC B cell response. Chronic viral infection elicits potent and sustained germinal center (GC) responses Chronic infection triggers prolonged plasma cell and memory B cell output from GCs GC B cells hypermutate efficiently and are potently selected in chronic infection
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bénédict Fallet
- Department of Biomedicine, Division of Experimental Virology, University of Basel, Haus Petersplatz, 4009 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Yi Hao
- Development of the Immune System, Institut Necker-Enfants Malades, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1151-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 8253, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France; Department of Pathogen Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Marianna Florova
- Department of Biomedicine, Division of Experimental Virology, University of Basel, Haus Petersplatz, 4009 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Karen Cornille
- Department of Biomedicine, Division of Experimental Virology, University of Basel, Haus Petersplatz, 4009 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alba Verge de Los Aires
- Development of the Immune System, Institut Necker-Enfants Malades, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1151-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 8253, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Giulia Girelli Zubani
- Development of the Immune System, Institut Necker-Enfants Malades, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1151-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 8253, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Yusuf I Ertuna
- Department of Biomedicine, Division of Experimental Virology, University of Basel, Haus Petersplatz, 4009 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Victor Greiff
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Immunology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ulrike Menzel
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Karim Hammad
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Clinical Pathology, University & University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Doron Merkler
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Division of Clinical Pathology, University & University Hospital of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sai T Reddy
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Jean-Claude Weill
- Development of the Immune System, Institut Necker-Enfants Malades, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1151-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 8253, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Claude-Agnès Reynaud
- Development of the Immune System, Institut Necker-Enfants Malades, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1151-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 8253, Faculté de Médecine Paris Descartes, Université Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Daniel D Pinschewer
- Department of Biomedicine, Division of Experimental Virology, University of Basel, Haus Petersplatz, 4009 Basel, Switzerland.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
De Groot AS, Moise L, Terry F, Gutierrez AH, Hindocha P, Richard G, Hoft DF, Ross TM, Noe AR, Takahashi Y, Kotraiah V, Silk SE, Nielsen CM, Minassian AM, Ashfield R, Ardito M, Draper SJ, Martin WD. Better Epitope Discovery, Precision Immune Engineering, and Accelerated Vaccine Design Using Immunoinformatics Tools. Front Immunol 2020; 11:442. [PMID: 32318055 PMCID: PMC7154102 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Computational vaccinology includes epitope mapping, antigen selection, and immunogen design using computational tools. Tools that facilitate the in silico prediction of immune response to biothreats, emerging infectious diseases, and cancers can accelerate the design of novel and next generation vaccines and their delivery to the clinic. Over the past 20 years, vaccinologists, bioinformatics experts, and advanced programmers based in Providence, Rhode Island, USA have advanced the development of an integrated toolkit for vaccine design called iVAX, that is secure and user-accessible by internet. This integrated set of immunoinformatic tools comprises algorithms for scoring and triaging candidate antigens, selecting immunogenic and conserved T cell epitopes, re-engineering or eliminating regulatory T cell epitopes, and re-designing antigens to induce immunogenicity and protection against disease for humans and livestock. Commercial and academic applications of iVAX have included identifying immunogenic T cell epitopes in the development of a T-cell based human multi-epitope Q fever vaccine, designing novel influenza vaccines, identifying cross-conserved T cell epitopes for a malaria vaccine, and analyzing immune responses in clinical vaccine studies. Animal vaccine applications to date have included viral infections of pigs such as swine influenza A, PCV2, and African Swine Fever. “Rapid-Fire” applications for biodefense have included a demonstration project for Lassa Fever and Q fever. As recent infectious disease outbreaks underscore the significance of vaccine-driven preparedness, the integrated set of tools available on the iVAX toolkit stand ready to help vaccine developers deliver genome-derived, epitope-driven vaccines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne S De Groot
- EpiVax, Inc., Providence, RI, United States.,Institute for Immunology and Informatics, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Leonard Moise
- EpiVax, Inc., Providence, RI, United States.,Institute for Immunology and Informatics, Providence, RI, United States
| | | | - Andres H Gutierrez
- EpiVax, Inc., Providence, RI, United States.,Institute for Immunology and Informatics, Providence, RI, United States
| | | | | | - Daniel Fredric Hoft
- Departments of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy & Immunology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Ted M Ross
- Center for Vaccines and Immunology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Amy R Noe
- Leidos Life Sciences, Frederick, MD, United States
| | | | | | - Sarah E Silk
- Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | | | - Simon J Draper
- Jenner Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | |
Collapse
|