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Benoit JM, Breznik JA, Ang JC, Bhakta H, Huynh A, Cowbrough B, Baker B, Heessels L, Lodhi S, Yan E, Ewusie J, Nazy I, Bramson J, Miller MS, Bernatsky S, Larché MJ, Bowdish DME. Immunomodulatory drugs have divergent effects on humoral and cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in people living with rheumatoid arthritis. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22846. [PMID: 38129594 PMCID: PMC10739702 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50263-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the efficacy of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in people on immunosuppressive drugs, including those with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is critical for their protection. Vaccine induced protection requires antibodies, CD4+ T cells, and CD8+ T cells, but it is unclear if these are equally affected by immunomodulatory drugs. Here, we determined how humoral and cellular SARS-CoV-2 vaccination responses differed between people with RA and controls, and which drug classes impacted these responses. Blood was collected from participants with RA on immunomodulatory drugs and controls after their second, third, and fourth SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations. Receptor binding domain (RBD)-specific antibodies were quantified by ELISA. Spike-specific memory T cells were quantitated using flow cytometry. Linear mixed models assessed the impact of age, sex, and immunomodulatory drug classes on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination responses. Compared to non-RA controls (n = 35), participants with RA on immunomodulatory drugs (n = 62) had lower anti-RBD IgG and spike-specific CD4+ T cell levels, but no deficits in spike-specific CD8+ T cells, following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Use of costimulation inhibitors was associated with lower humoral responses. JAK inhibitors were associated with fewer spike-specific CD4+ T cells. Participants with RA on immunomodulatory drugs mounted weaker responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, with different drug classes impacting the cellular and humoral compartments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenna M Benoit
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute of Respiratory Health, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jessica A Breznik
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Institute for Research on Aging, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jann C Ang
- Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Hina Bhakta
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Angela Huynh
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Braeden Cowbrough
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Barbara Baker
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Lauren Heessels
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sumiya Lodhi
- Department of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Yan
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Joycelyne Ewusie
- Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI), McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ishac Nazy
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jonathan Bramson
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Matthew S Miller
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sasha Bernatsky
- Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Maggie J Larché
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
| | - Dawn M E Bowdish
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- Firestone Institute of Respiratory Health, St. Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
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2
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Ju X, Son K, Jamil R, Culgin S, Salter B, Miyasaki K, Fard NE, Xiao M, Patel Z, Zhang K, Cowbrough B, Kjarsgaard M, Radford K, Dvorkin-Gheva A, Richards CD, Cox G, Chagla Z, Smieja M, Tunks M, Alhazzani W, Bowdish DME, Perri D, Nair PK, Sehmi R, Mukherjee M. Eosinophil-independent IL-5 levels are increased in critically ill COVID-19 patients who survive. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol 2023; 19:58. [PMID: 37403168 DOI: 10.1186/s13223-023-00810-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaotian Ju
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kiho Son
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Rameen Jamil
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sarah Culgin
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Brittany Salter
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kate Miyasaki
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Nahal Emami Fard
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Maria Xiao
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Zil Patel
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kayla Zhang
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Braeden Cowbrough
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Melanie Kjarsgaard
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Katherine Radford
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Anna Dvorkin-Gheva
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Carl D Richards
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Gerard Cox
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Zain Chagla
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Marek Smieja
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Marcel Tunks
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Waleed Alhazzani
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Dawn M E Bowdish
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Dan Perri
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Parameswaran K Nair
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Roma Sehmi
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
| | - Manali Mukherjee
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, Research Institute of St. Joe's, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
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3
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Son K, Jamil R, Chowdhury A, Mukherjee M, Venegas C, Miyasaki K, Zhang K, Patel Z, Salter B, Yuen ACY, Lau KSK, Cowbrough B, Radford K, Huang C, Kjarsgaard M, Dvorkin-Gheva A, Smith J, Li QZ, Waserman S, Ryerson CJ, Nair P, Ho T, Balakrishnan N, Nazy I, Bowdish DME, Svenningsen S, Carlsten C, Mukherjee M. Circulating anti-nuclear autoantibodies in COVID-19 survivors predict long COVID symptoms. Eur Respir J 2023; 61:13993003.00970-2022. [PMID: 36137590 PMCID: PMC9515477 DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00970-2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Autoimmunity has been reported in patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We investigated whether anti-nuclear/extractable-nuclear antibodies (ANAs/ENAs) were present up to a year after infection, and if they were associated with the development of clinically relevant post-acute sequalae of COVID-19 (PASC) symptoms. METHODS A rapid-assessment line immunoassay was used to measure circulating levels of ANAs/ENAs in 106 convalescent COVID-19 patients with varying acute phase severities at 3, 6 and 12 months post-recovery. Patient-reported fatigue, cough and dyspnoea were recorded at each time point. Multivariable logistic regression model and receiver operating curves were used to test the association of autoantibodies with patient-reported outcomes and pro-inflammatory cytokines. RESULTS Compared to age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n=22) and those who had other respiratory infections (n=34), patients with COVID-19 had higher detectable ANAs at 3 months post-recovery (p<0.001). The mean number of ANA autoreactivities per individual decreased between 3 and 12 months (from 3.99 to 1.55) with persistent positive titres associated with fatigue, dyspnoea and cough severity. Antibodies to U1-snRNP and anti-SS-B/La were both positively associated with persistent symptoms of fatigue (p<0.028, area under the curve (AUC) 0.86) and dyspnoea (p<0.003, AUC=0.81). Pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and C-reactive protein predicted the elevated ANAs at 12 months. TNF-α, D-dimer and interleukin-1β had the strongest association with symptoms at 12 months. Regression analysis showed that TNF-α predicted fatigue (β=4.65, p=0.004) and general symptomaticity (β=2.40, p=0.03) at 12 months. INTERPRETATION Persistently positive ANAs at 12 months post-COVID are associated with persisting symptoms and inflammation (TNF-α) in a subset of COVID-19 survivors. This finding indicates the need for further investigation into the role of autoimmunity in PASC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiho Son
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Rameen Jamil
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Abhiroop Chowdhury
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Equal contribution
| | - Manan Mukherjee
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Equal contribution
| | - Carmen Venegas
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kate Miyasaki
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Kayla Zhang
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Zil Patel
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Brittany Salter
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Agnes Che Yan Yuen
- Department of Medicine and Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Kevin Soon-Keen Lau
- Department of Medicine and Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Katherine Radford
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, The Research Institute of St Joes, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Chynna Huang
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, The Research Institute of St Joes, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Melanie Kjarsgaard
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, The Research Institute of St Joes, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | | | - James Smith
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Quan-Zhen Li
- Department of Immunology and Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Susan Waserman
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Christopher J Ryerson
- Department of Medicine and Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Terence Ho
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | | | - Ishac Nazy
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Dawn M E Bowdish
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, The Research Institute of St Joes, St Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | | | - Chris Carlsten
- Department of Medicine and Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Manali Mukherjee
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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Himbert S, Gastaldo IP, Ahmed R, Pomier KM, Cowbrough B, Jahagirdar D, Ros S, Juhasz J, Stöver HDH, Ortega J, Melacini G, Bowdish DME, Rheinstädter MC. Erythro-VLPs: Anchoring SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins in erythrocyte liposomes. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0263671. [PMID: 35275926 PMCID: PMC8916654 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Novel therapeutic strategies are needed to control the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) pandemic. Here, we present a protocol to anchor the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S-)protein in the cytoplasmic membranes of erythrocyte liposomes. A surfactant was used to stabilize the S-protein’s structure in the aqueous environment before insertion and to facilitate reconstitution of the S-proteins in the erythrocyte membranes. The insertion process was studied using coarse grained Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Liposome formation and S-protein anchoring was studied by dynamic light scattering (DLS), ELV-protein co-sedimentation assays, fluorescent microcopy and cryo-TEM. The Erythro-VLPs (erythrocyte based virus like particles) have a well defined size of ∼200 nm and an average protein density on the outer membrane of up to ∼300 proteins/μm2. The correct insertion and functional conformation of the S-proteins was verified by dose-dependent binding to ACE-2 (angiotensin converting enzyme 2) in biolayer interferometry (BLI) assays. Seroconversion was observed in a pilot mouse trial after 14 days when administered intravenously, based on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). This red blood cell based platform can open novel possibilities for therapeutics for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) including variants, and other viruses in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Himbert
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Origins Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Isabella Passos Gastaldo
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Origins Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Rashik Ahmed
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton ON, Canada
| | - Karla Martinez Pomier
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton ON, Canada
| | - Braeden Cowbrough
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Dushyant Jahagirdar
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Samantha Ros
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Janos Juhasz
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Juravinski Cancer Centre, Department of Medical Physics, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Harald D. H. Stöver
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Joaquin Ortega
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Giuseppe Melacini
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton ON, Canada
| | - Dawn M. E. Bowdish
- Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Maikel C. Rheinstädter
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- Origins Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
- * E-mail:
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5
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Leung V, Mapletoft J, Zhang A, Lee A, Vahedi F, Chew M, Szewczyk A, Jahanshahi-Anbuhi S, Ang J, Cowbrough B, Miller MS, Ashkar A, Filipe CDM. Thermal Stabilization of Viral Vaccines in Low-Cost Sugar Films. Sci Rep 2019; 9:7631. [PMID: 31113974 PMCID: PMC6529427 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44020-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Most currently available vaccines, particularly live vaccines, require the cold chain, as vaccine efficacy can be significantly hampered if they are not stored in a temperature range of 2-8 °C at all times. This necessity places a tremendous financial and logistical burden on vaccination programs, particularly in the developing world. The development of thermally stable vaccines can greatly alleviate this problem and, in turn, increase vaccine accessibility worldwide. In this paper, we detail a simple and cost-effective method for stabilizing live vaccines that uses FDA-approved materials. To this end, we dried enveloped DNA (Herpes Simplex Virus type 2) and RNA (Influenza A virus) viral vaccines in a pullulan and trehalose mixture. The results of these studies showed that the live-attenuated HSV-2 vaccine retained its efficacy for at least 2 months of storage at 40 °C, while the inactivated influenza vaccine was able to retain its immunogenicity for at least 3 months of storage at 40 °C. This work presents a simple approach that allows thermo-sensitive vaccines to be converted into thermo-stable vaccines that do not require refrigeration, thus contributing to the improvement of vaccine deployment throughout the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincent Leung
- Department of Chemical Engineering, 1280 Main Street West, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Jonathan Mapletoft
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ali Zhang
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Amanda Lee
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Rm 4015 Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Fatemeh Vahedi
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Rm 4015 Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Marianne Chew
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Rm 4015 Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Alexandra Szewczyk
- Department of Chemical Engineering, 1280 Main Street West, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Sana Jahanshahi-Anbuhi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, 1280 Main Street West, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada
| | - Jann Ang
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Braeden Cowbrough
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Matthew S Miller
- Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ali Ashkar
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, McMaster University, Rm 4015 Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
| | - Carlos D M Filipe
- Department of Chemical Engineering, 1280 Main Street West, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L7, Canada.
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