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Esmaeilnejad-Ahranjani P, Shahali Y, Dadar M. Detoxification techniques for bacterial toxins: A pathway to effective toxoid vaccines. Toxicon 2025; 260:108365. [PMID: 40246205 DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2025.108365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2025] [Revised: 04/13/2025] [Accepted: 04/15/2025] [Indexed: 04/19/2025]
Abstract
Bacterial toxins play a critical role in the virulence of many pathogens, leading to serious diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria, botulism, and entrotoxemia. As key virulence factors, these toxins cause significant tissue damage and disease manifestations in infected hosts. Vaccination against these toxins through toxoid vaccines, composed of inactivated forms of the toxins, represents a vital strategy for preventing toxin-mediated diseases. However, creating effective toxoid vaccines necessitates meticulous detoxification processes that ensure the loss of toxicity while retaining the immunogenic properties inherent in the native toxins. This review offers a comprehensive evaluation of the diverse methodologies employed for detoxifying bacterial toxins, highlighting their advantages, limitations, and implications for vaccine development. By detailing comparisons of efficacy, stability, residual toxicity, and clinical applicability, we demonstrate that while traditional methods utilizing chemical reagents (such as formaldehyde) remain widely used, emerging technologies like genetic inactivation and protein engineering present significant advantages. These innovations promise to advance the development of durable and irreversible toxoid vaccines that protect public health and contribute to future vaccine formulation improvements. Ultimately, this knowledge synthesis aims to guide future research efforts and facilitate the design of safer and more effective toxoid vaccines to combat the public health threats posed by toxin-producing bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parvaneh Esmaeilnejad-Ahranjani
- Department of Research and Development, Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.
| | - Youcef Shahali
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Besançon, Besançon, France
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Brangulis K, Malfetano J, Marcinkiewicz AL, Wang A, Chen YL, Lee J, Liu Z, Yang X, Strych U, Tupina D, Akopjana I, Bottazzi ME, Pal U, Hsieh CL, Chen WH, Lin YP. Mechanistic insights into the structure-based design of a CspZ-targeting Lyme disease vaccine. Nat Commun 2025; 16:2898. [PMID: 40189575 PMCID: PMC11973211 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58182-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2025] [Indexed: 04/09/2025] Open
Abstract
Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) causes Lyme disease (LD), one of the most common vector-borne diseases in the Northern Hemisphere. Here, we solve the crystal structure of a mutated Bb vaccine antigen, CspZ-YA that lacks the ability to bind to host complement factor H (FH). We generate point mutants of CspZ-YA and identify CspZ-YAI183Y and CspZ-YAC187S to trigger more robust bactericidal responses. Compared to CspZ-YA, these CspZ-YA mutants require a lower immunization frequency to protect mice from LD-associated inflammation and bacterial colonization. Antigenicity of wild-type and mutant CspZ-YA proteins are similar, as measured using sera from infected people or immunized female mice. Structural comparison of CspZ-YA with CspZ-YAI183Y and CspZ-YAC187S shows enhanced interactions of two helices adjacent to the FH-binding sites in the mutants, consistent with their elevated thermostability. In line with these findings, protective CspZ-YA monoclonal antibodies show increased binding to CspZ-YA at a physiological temperature (37 °C). In summary, this proof-of-concept study applies structural vaccinology to enhance intramolecular interactions for the long-term stability of a Bb antigen while maintaining its protective epitopes, thus promoting LD vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalvis Brangulis
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia.
- Department of Human Physiology and Biochemistry, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.
| | - Jill Malfetano
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Wadsworth Center, NYSDOH, Albany, NY, USA
| | - Ashley L Marcinkiewicz
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Wadsworth Center, NYSDOH, Albany, NY, USA
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, USA
| | - Alan Wang
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Wadsworth Center, NYSDOH, Albany, NY, USA
- Pomona College, Claremont, CA, USA
| | - Yi-Lin Chen
- Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jungsoon Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Zhuyun Liu
- Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xiuli Yang
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Ulrich Strych
- Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Dagnija Tupina
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Inara Akopjana
- Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Riga, Latvia
| | - Maria-Elena Bottazzi
- Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA
| | - Utpal Pal
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Ching-Lin Hsieh
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
| | - Wen-Hsiang Chen
- Department of Pediatrics, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
- Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Yi-Pin Lin
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Wadsworth Center, NYSDOH, Albany, NY, USA.
- Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University, North Grafton, MA, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, SUNY Albany, Albany, NY, USA.
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Jain SS, Singh VK, Kante RK, Jana SK, Patil RH. Current trends in development and manufacturing of higher-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine and its challenges. Biologicals 2024; 87:101784. [PMID: 39053122 DOI: 10.1016/j.biologicals.2024.101784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2024] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) have been developed to protect against pneumococcal diseases caused by the more than 100 serotypes of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae. PCVs primarily prevent pneumococcal infections such as sepsis, bacteraemia, meningitis, otitis media, pneumonia, septicaemia, and sinusitis among infants, adults, elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. The current available PCVs only cover a limited number of serotypes, and there is an immense need for developing higher-valent PCVs that can protect against non-vaccine serotypes to overcome challenges like serotype replacement and antibiotic resistance. The main challenges for developing higher valent PCVs are the complexity of the manufacturing process comprising polysaccharide fermentation, purification, modification or sizing of multiple polysaccharides and conjugation between polysaccharides and carrier proteins, the stability of the conjugates, and the immunogenicity of the vaccine. Different manufacturing processes have been explored to produce higher valent PCVs using different serotypes of S. pneumoniae and conjugation with different carrier proteins. The global coverage of higher valent PCVs are still low, mainly due to the high cost and limited supply of the vaccine. This review focuses on the existing and emerging manufacturing processes and challenges associated with higher-valent pneumococcal PCV development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shital S Jain
- Savitribai Phule Pune University, Department of Biotechnology, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India; Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Hadapsar, Pune, Maharashtra, 411028, India.
| | - Vikas K Singh
- Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Hadapsar, Pune, Maharashtra, 411028, India.
| | - Rajesh Kumar Kante
- Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Hadapsar, Pune, Maharashtra, 411028, India.
| | - Swapan Kumar Jana
- Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Hadapsar, Pune, Maharashtra, 411028, India.
| | - Rajendra H Patil
- Savitribai Phule Pune University, Department of Biotechnology, Pune, Maharashtra, 411007, India.
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Oldrini D, Di Benedetto R, Carducci M, De Simone D, Massai L, Alfini R, Galli B, Brunelli B, Przedpelski A, Barbieri JT, Rossi O, Giannelli C, Rappuoli R, Berti F, Micoli F. Testing a Recombinant Form of Tetanus Toxoid as a Carrier Protein for Glycoconjugate Vaccines. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1770. [PMID: 38140177 PMCID: PMC10747096 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11121770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Glycoconjugate vaccines play a major role in the prevention of infectious diseases worldwide, with significant impact on global health, enabling the polysaccharides to induce immunogenicity in infants and immunological memory. Tetanus toxoid (TT), a chemically detoxified bacterial toxin, is among the few carrier proteins used in licensed glycoconjugate vaccines. The recombinant full-length 8MTT was engineered in E. coli with eight individual amino acid mutations to inactivate three toxin functions. Previous studies in mice showed that 8MTT elicits a strong IgG response, confers protection, and can be used as a carrier protein. Here, we compared 8MTT to traditional carrier proteins TT and cross-reactive material 197 (CRM197), using different polysaccharides as models: Group A Streptococcus cell-wall carbohydrate (GAC), Salmonella Typhi Vi, and Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W, and Y. The persistency of the antibodies induced, the ability of the glycoconjugates to elicit booster response after re-injection at a later time point, the eventual carrier-induced epitopic suppression, and immune interference in multicomponent formulations were also evaluated. Overall, immunogenicity responses obtained with 8MTT glycoconjugates were compared to those obtained with corresponding TT and, in some cases, were higher than those induced by CRM197 glycoconjugates. Our results support the use of 8MTT as a good alternative carrier protein for glycoconjugate vaccines, with advantages in terms of manufacturability compared to TT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Oldrini
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Roberta Di Benedetto
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Martina Carducci
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Daniele De Simone
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Luisa Massai
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Renzo Alfini
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Barbara Galli
- GSK, via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (B.G.); (B.B.); (F.B.)
| | | | - Amanda Przedpelski
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; (A.P.); (J.T.B.)
| | - Joseph T. Barbieri
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, USA; (A.P.); (J.T.B.)
| | - Omar Rossi
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Carlo Giannelli
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
| | - Rino Rappuoli
- Fondazione Biotecnopolo, via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy;
| | - Francesco Berti
- GSK, via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (B.G.); (B.B.); (F.B.)
| | - Francesca Micoli
- GSK Vaccines Institute for Global Health (GVGH), via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy; (D.O.); (R.D.B.); (M.C.); (D.D.S.); (L.M.); (R.A.); (O.R.); (C.G.)
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Gupta S, Pellett S. Recent Developments in Vaccine Design: From Live Vaccines to Recombinant Toxin Vaccines. Toxins (Basel) 2023; 15:563. [PMID: 37755989 PMCID: PMC10536331 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15090563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccines are one of the most effective strategies to prevent pathogen-induced illness in humans. The earliest vaccines were based on live inoculations with low doses of live or related pathogens, which carried a relatively high risk of developing the disease they were meant to prevent. The introduction of attenuated and killed pathogens as vaccines dramatically reduced these risks; however, attenuated live vaccines still carry a risk of reversion to a pathogenic strain capable of causing disease. This risk is completely eliminated with recombinant protein or subunit vaccines, which are atoxic and non-infectious. However, these vaccines require adjuvants and often significant optimization to induce robust T-cell responses and long-lasting immune memory. Some pathogens produce protein toxins that cause or contribute to disease. To protect against the effects of such toxins, chemically inactivated toxoid vaccines have been found to be effective. Toxoid vaccines are successfully used today at a global scale to protect against tetanus and diphtheria. Recent developments for toxoid vaccines are investigating the possibilities of utilizing recombinant protein toxins mutated to eliminate biologic activity instead of chemically inactivated toxins. Finally, one of the most contemporary approaches toward vaccine design utilizes messenger RNA (mRNA) as a vaccine candidate. This approach was used globally to protect against coronavirus disease during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2019, due to its advantages of quick production and scale-up, and effectiveness in eliciting a neutralizing antibody response. Nonetheless, mRNA vaccines require specialized storage and transport conditions, posing challenges for low- and middle-income countries. Among multiple available technologies for vaccine design and formulation, which technology is most appropriate? This review focuses on the considerable developments that have been made in utilizing diverse vaccine technologies with a focus on vaccines targeting bacterial toxins. We describe how advancements in vaccine technology, combined with a deeper understanding of pathogen-host interactions, offer exciting and promising avenues for the development of new and improved vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabine Pellett
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA;
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Khodak YA. Heterologous Expression of Recombinant Proteins and Their Derivatives Used as Carriers for Conjugate Vaccines. BIOCHEMISTRY. BIOKHIMIIA 2023; 88:1248-1266. [PMID: 37770392 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297923090055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Carrier proteins that provide an effective and long-term immune response to weak antigens has become a real breakthrough in the disease prevention, making it available to a wider range of patients and making it possible to obtain reliable vaccines against a variety of pathogens. Currently, research is continuing both to identify new peptides, proteins, and their complexes potentially suitable for use as carriers, and to develop new methods for isolation, purification, and conjugation of already known and well-established proteins. The use of recombinant proteins has a number of advantages over isolation from natural sources, such as simpler cultivation of the host organism, the possibility of modifying genetic constructs, use of numerous promoter variants, signal sequences, and other regulatory elements. This review is devoted to the methods of obtaining both traditional and new recombinant proteins and their derivatives already being used or potentially suitable for use as carrier proteins in conjugate vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuliya A Khodak
- Institute of Bioengineering, Federal Research Centre of Biotechnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117312, Russia.
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Efremenko E, Aslanli A, Lyagin I. Advanced Situation with Recombinant Toxins: Diversity, Production and Application Purposes. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24054630. [PMID: 36902061 PMCID: PMC10003545 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24054630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Today, the production and use of various samples of recombinant protein/polypeptide toxins is known and is actively developing. This review presents state-of-the-art in research and development of such toxins and their mechanisms of action and useful properties that have allowed them to be implemented into practice to treat various medical conditions (including oncology and chronic inflammation applications) and diseases, as well as to identify novel compounds and to detoxify them by diverse approaches (including enzyme antidotes). Special attention is given to the problems and possibilities of the toxicity control of the obtained recombinant proteins. The recombinant prions are discussed in the frame of their possible detoxification by enzymes. The review discusses the feasibility of obtaining recombinant variants of toxins in the form of protein molecules modified with fluorescent proteins, affine sequences and genetic mutations, allowing us to investigate the mechanisms of toxins' bindings to their natural receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Efremenko
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +7-(495)-939-3170; Fax: +7-(495)-939-5417
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van der Put RM, Metz B, Pieters RJ. Carriers and Antigens: New Developments in Glycoconjugate Vaccines. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11020219. [PMID: 36851097 PMCID: PMC9962112 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11020219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Glycoconjugate vaccines have proven their worth in the protection and prevention of infectious diseases. The introduction of the Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine is the prime example, followed by other glycoconjugate vaccines. Glycoconjugate vaccines consist of two components: the carrier protein and the carbohydrate antigen. Current carrier proteins are tetanus toxoid, diphtheria toxoid, CRM197, Haemophilus protein D and the outer membrane protein complex of serogroup B meningococcus. Carbohydrate antigens have been produced mainly by extraction and purification from the original host. However, current efforts show great advances in the development of synthetically produced oligosaccharides and bioconjugation. This review evaluates the advances of glycoconjugate vaccines in the last five years. We focus on developments regarding both new carriers and antigens. Innovative developments regarding carriers are outer membrane vesicles, glycoengineered proteins, new carrier proteins, virus-like particles, protein nanocages and peptides. With regard to conjugated antigens, we describe recent developments in the field of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and ESKAPE pathogens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M.F. van der Put
- Intravacc, P.O. Box 450, 3720 AL Bilthoven, The Netherlands
- Department of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80082, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Correspondence:
| | - Bernard Metz
- Intravacc, P.O. Box 450, 3720 AL Bilthoven, The Netherlands
| | - Roland J. Pieters
- Department of Chemical Biology & Drug Discovery, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80082, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands
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