逆向疫苗学及其应用

逆向疫苗学是一种新兴的疫苗研制方法,区别于传统的疫苗研制方法,逆向疫苗学运用了基因组学、生物信息学以及蛋白质组学等多种新型技术,建立抗原筛选库,筛选保护性抗原,制备常规方法很难或不可能生产的疫苗。该方法无需在体外培养微生物。目前,逆向疫苗学已经在多种疫苗的研制过程中取得了很大的进展。     

用日本血吸虫部分cDNA表达质粒文库免疫小鼠产生的保护性效果

寻找保护性效果更好的抗原分子一直是抗血吸虫病疫苗研发领域的热点和难点。国内外筛选日本血吸虫 (Ｓｃｈｉｓｔｏ ｓｏｍａｊａｐｏｎｉｃｕｍ)保护性抗原分子采取的主要策略有 2种 :一是通过构建血吸虫某一生活史ｃＤＮＡ文库 ,采用探针 (核酸或抗体 )从文库或文库表达产物中筛选出特异性抗原基因 ,再逐一评估其保护性效果。该策略的主要缺陷是筛选操作费时费力 ,且效率不高。另一途径则是根据已知的曼氏血吸虫或其它种 (株 )保护性抗原基因序列 ,通过ＰＣＲ或核酸探针等技术筛选与之同源的相应抗原分子 ,这一方法 (尤其是ＰＣＲ方法 )尽…     

基于融合前F蛋白呼吸道合胞病毒疫苗的研究进展

呼吸道合胞病毒(respiratory syncytial virus, RSV)是引起婴幼儿和老年人下呼吸道感染(lower respiratory tract infection, LRTI)的主要原因,尚无可用于预防的疫苗。目前,WHO已将研发RSV疫苗确定为其疫苗研发和生物标准化倡议的优先事项之一。RSV融合蛋白(fusion protein, F)是病毒表面的主要保护性抗原,主要介导病毒包膜和靶细胞膜的融合。在感染过程中,F蛋白从亚稳态的融合前F蛋白(prefusion fusion protein, PreF)转变为稳定的融合后F蛋白(postfusion fusion protein, PostF)。近年来,研究发现PreF在体内诱导产生RSV中和抗体能力更强,适合作为免疫原用于RSV疫苗的研发。现就RSV PreF的结构、稳定策略及其作为疫苗候选抗原的应用作一概述。     

生物信息学方法预测病原体抗原蛋白序列中多肽疫苗候选表位

根据病原体抗原基因中具有免疫原性的表位氨基酸序列,通过化学合成技术可制备该病原体的多肽疫苗.相较于灭活和减毒疫苗,多肽疫苗因成分简单、特异性强、安全性高、易于保存等优点成为疫苗研发的重点.然而,特异有效的疫苗候选表位的预测和筛选,仍是限制多肽疫苗设计与研发的一个重要因素.本研究综合多个生物信息学工具,构建了一个可用于预...     

疫苗研究新策略—反向疫苗学

反向疫苗学是现代疫苗学研究的一种新的策略,随着生物信息学的不断发展,疫苗学的研究进入了一个新的时期,通过对基因组序列分析,来筛选重要保守抗原序列,从而鉴定具有一定免疫原性特征的蛋白质。这种方法可以提高疫苗筛选效率。因此,反向疫苗学对于传统方法无法制备的疫苗提供了一种新的研究方法和思路,具有十分重要的意义。本文就此作一综述。     

人乳头瘤病毒L1基因与丹毒丝菌SpaA-N优势抗原表位序列的嵌合重组质粒构建及活性鉴定

为确定丹毒丝菌表面保护性抗原A的N-末端(SpaA-N)优势抗原表位,研发新型表位DNA嵌合疫苗,利用生物信息学软件对丹毒丝菌SpaA-N的优势B细胞抗原表位进行预测,以重叠PCR将优势表位插入人乳头瘤病毒16型的主要衣壳蛋白( HPV-16 LI) HI环结构的编码序列中,构建获得重组嵌合质粒pcDNA3-HPV-LI -△spaA.该重组质粒经体内、外瞬时特染后,RT-PCR均扩增获得了1 500 bp左右的目的片段.免疫印迹试验显示,体外转染嵌合质粒的细胞总蛋白能够与GST-SpaA-N重组蛋白免疫血清在56 kD处产生特异性结合.ELISA分析显示嵌合质粒可在小鼠体内产生差异显著的特异性抗体(P＜0.01),抗体滴度为1:1 000.此外,pcDNA3-HPV-L1-△spaA制备的抗血清至少可在1∶10稀释度条件下,介导外源补体对半数以上的菌体进行杀伤.该研究表明,获得的SpaA-N表位DNA嵌合疫苗具有免疫活性,为研发安全有效的丹毒丝菌新型DNA疫苗提供了一个新思路.     

后基因组时代的结核新疫苗研究

利用蛋白质组技术、生物信息学的DNA芯片等技术筛选适当的保护性抗原,重点在亚单位疫苗的DNA疫苗方面构建预防性和治疗性的疫苗,并配合使用亚单位疫苗,DNA疫苗和减毒活疫苗是值得重视的方向。     

新型冠状病毒亚单位疫苗研究进展及现状*

自新型冠状病毒肺炎在2019年年末暴发以来,如何高效防控疫情一直是紧急的全球公共安全事件。疫苗是有效阻止病毒感染人体、保护高危人群免于疾病快速进展以及遏制疫情进一步扩大的手段之一,其中亚单位疫苗的主要成分为特定的病毒抗原蛋白或多肽,通过加入疫苗佐剂提高抗原的免疫原性。由于机体仅针对重组蛋白表面的特定抗原表位进行识别并产生抗体,因此亚单位疫苗具有较高的保护能力和安全性。通过对目前已上市及处于临床阶段的各类新型冠状病毒亚单位疫苗进行梳理,介绍了各类亚单位疫苗的抗原设计策略和佐剂选择、整体保护能力及研究进展,并对亚单位疫苗的应用及技术优势进行分析,期望能为亚单位疫苗研发及全球疫情防控提供参考。     

应用生物信息学方法筛选幽门螺杆菌疫苗候选抗原

目的：应用生物信息学分析方法筛选幽门螺杆菌新的疫苗候选抗原。方法：从TIGRCMR下载幽门螺杆菌26695和J99株全基因组序列,应用生物信息学SignalP、PredTMBB、LipoP、TMHMM、Phobius、PSORT-B和SubLoc等分析软件,筛选幽门螺杆菌新的外膜蛋白和分泌蛋白疫苗候选抗原。结果：从幽门螺杆菌26695株筛选得到54个编码β-桶型跨膜蛋白、脂蛋白或分泌表达蛋白的疫苗候选蛋白抗原,从幽门螺杆菌J99株得到61个呈现上述表达方式的疫苗候选蛋白抗原;且这2株细菌的疫苗候选蛋白呈现良好的交集状况,即有43个候选疫苗蛋白是相同的。结论：用生物信息学分析方法可以从全基因组范围内快速筛选到保守的分泌或表面暴露的疫苗候选抗原,为疫苗抗原的快速筛选与鉴定奠定了基础。     

传染性法氏囊病毒VP2 蛋白的分子生物学研究进展

本文综述了IBDV的保护性抗原蛋白VP2与病毒形态、毒力变异、抗原变异间的关系及在诱导宿主细胞凋亡中的作用。同时也探讨了其在新型疫苗开发中的应用等方面的研究进展。     

Bacterial genomes pave the way to novel vaccines

The availability of complete genome sequences of pathogens has dramatically changed the scope for developing improved and novel vaccines by increasing the speed of target identification. Genomics-based technologies have many advantages, compared to conventional approaches, which are time-consuming and usually identify only abundant antigens that are expressible under in vitro culture conditions. This review focuses on recent reports of genomics-based strategies that can be applied to most pathogens and that exploit genome sequence information in alliance with adjunct technologies, including bioinformatics, expression analyses, random mutagenesis or protein/peptide-based selection methods. Despite the caveats that are associated with the individual approaches, these technologies have already made major contributions to the identification and selection of novel vaccine candidates to combat bacterial infections.     

Biotechnology and vaccines: application of functional genomics to Neisseria meningitidis and other bacterial pathogens

Since its introduction, vaccinology has been very effective in preventing infectious diseases. However, in several cases, the conventional approach to identify protective antigens, based on biochemical, immunological and microbiological methods, has failed to deliver successful vaccine candidates against major bacterial pathogens. The recent development of powerful biotechnological tools applied to genome-based approaches has revolutionized vaccine development, biological research and clinical diagnostics. The availability of a genome provides an inclusive virtual catalogue of all the potential antigens from which it is possible to select the molecules that are likely to be more effective. Here, we describe the use of "reverse vaccinology", which has been successful in the identification of potential vaccines candidates against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B and review the use of functional genomics approaches as DNA microarrays, proteomics and comparative genome analysis for the identification of virulence factors and novel vaccine candidates. In addition, we describe the potential of these powerful technologies in understanding the pathogenesis of various bacteria.     

Purification of bacterial exotoxins. The case of botulinum, tetanus, anthrax, pertussis and cholera toxins.

Bacterial protein toxins and their fragments have been isolated and purified for various reasons, including the development of efficient vaccines and for methods of identification of bacterial agents causing disease. This activity continues today but a new area of bacterial protein toxin research has recently emerged. Since it was shown that toxin molecules comprise several types of biological activity within their structural domains, it was suggested to use these domains (and their combinations) as biochemical tools for developing novel agents for disease imaging and and/or relieving. In this way eukaryotic cell-receptor specific fusion toxins have been developed to prevent malignancy in human. While human clinical trials of these preparations have only recently begun, the preliminary clinical findings are promising. Also fusion proteins which combine independent immunodominant epitopes from different antigens have also been developed thus opening a way for the generation of new vaccines for both human and veterinary use. Receptor binding fragments of microbial toxins when combined with other molecules may be useful in delivering these molecules into the cell. In this way novel agents may be developed with a potential for inducing specific changes at the molecular level for the correction of metabolic disorders causing human and animal diseases. Bacterial protein toxins such as anthrax, botulinum, cholera, pertussis and tetanus for which considerable progress has been achieved in structure-function analysis are promising candidates for such research. Particularly exciting appears the idea of extending this research to the cells of the nervous system, exploiting the unique specificity of the botulinum or tetanus toxin fragments which may bring long desired methods for treatment of various disorders of the nervous system. Data on functional domains of these toxins as well as methods of purification of the whole toxins and their fragments are considered in this review as they form a base for their further structure-function analysis and engineering applications.     

Synthetic peptide vaccines

The review considers the stages of the development of synthetic peptide vaccines against infectious agents, novel approaches and technologies employed in this process, including bioinformatics, genomics, proteomics, large-scale peptide synthesis, high-throughput screening methods, the use of transgenic animals for modeling of human infections. An important role for the development and selection of efficient adjuvants for peptide immunogens is noted. The review contains examples of the developments of synthetic peptide vaccines against three infectious diseases (malaria, hepatitis C, and foot-and-mouth disease).     

Vaccine design: future possibilities and potentials

Recent developments in the understanding of the structure and replications of a wide range of pathogens, including viruses, bacteria and parasites have opened up ways of designing novel vaccines which should both improve the quality and extend the range and value of vaccines as major prophylactic and therapeutic tools of the future. Two main strategies have emerged, one involving the development of synthetic vaccines which are essentially composed of selected epitopes of the pathogenic agent that will elicit neutralising antibodies. The other strategy attempts to make use of chimeric agents that will allow live virus or bacteria to be used as vectors for carrying appropriate epitopes of the target pathogen. Current knowledge about the immunology and improvements in the presentation of antigen to the immune system will also play an important role in the rational design of vaccines. This review summarises present methods of producing vaccines and considers the development of more rational methods of vaccine design that will greatly influence the production of vaccines in the future.     

The genome revolution in vaccine research

The conventional approach to vaccine development is based on dissection of the pathogen using biochemical, immunological and microbiological methods. Although successful in several cases, this approach has failed to provide a solution to prevent several major bacterial infections. The availability of complete genome sequences in combination with novel advanced technologies, such as bioinformatics, microarrays and proteomics, have revolutionized the approach to vaccine development and provided a new impulse to microbial research. The genomic revolution allows the design of vaccines starting from the prediction of all antigens in silico, independently of their abundance and without the need to grow the pathogen in vitro. This new genome-based approach, which we have named "Reverse Vaccinology", has been successfully applied for Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B for which conventional strategies have failed to provide an efficacious vaccine. The concept of "Reverse Vaccinology" can be easily applied to all the pathogens for which vaccines are not yet available and can be extended to parasites and viruses.     

Elicitation of predictable immune responses by using live bacterial vectors

There is an increasing need for novel vaccines able to stimulate efficient and long-lasting responses, which have also low production costs. To confer protective immunity following vaccination, the adequate type of response should be elicited. Vaccines based on attenuated bacterial carriers have contained production and delivery costs, and are able to stimulate more potent immune responses than non-replicating formulations. The improved knowledge on carrier physiology and host response, the availability of different mutants and highly sophisticated expression tools, and the possibility of co-administering modulators enable to trigger predictable responses according to the specific needs. Recent studies support the use of attenuated bacteria not only as conventional carriers, but also as a delivery system for DNA vaccines against infectious agents and tumors. In this review we discuss the most widely used bacterial carrier systems for either antigens or nucleic acid vaccines, and the strategies which have been successfully exploited to modulate the immune responses elicited.     

Recent advances and safety issues of transgenic plant-derived vaccines

Transgenic plant-derived vaccines comprise a new type of bioreactor that combines plant genetic engineering technology with an organism's immunological response. This combination can be considered as a bioreactor that is produced by introducing foreign genes into plants that elicit special immunogenicity when introduced into animals or human beings. In comparison with traditional vaccines, plant vaccines have some significant advantages, such as low cost, greater safety, and greater effectiveness. In a number of recent studies, antigen-specific proteins have been successfully expressed in various plant tissues and have even been tested in animals and human beings. Therefore, edible vaccines of transgenic plants have a bright future. This review begins with a discussion of the immune mechanism and expression systems for transgenic plant vaccines. Then, current advances in different transgenic plant vaccines will be analyzed, including vaccines against pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and eukaryotic parasites. In view of the low expression levels for antigens in plants, high-level expression strategies of foreign protein in transgenic plants are recommended. Finally, the existing safety problems in transgenic plant vaccines were put forward will be discussed along with a number of appropriate solutions that will hopefully lead to future clinical application of edible plant vaccines.     

Use of monoclonal antibodies in identification and characterization of fish viruses

Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for fish viruses have been used increasingly in fish health management programs and as tools in research. The initial and most widespread use has been in the development of improved diagnostic and virus identification assays. MAbs with broad reactivity that provide standardized reagents for use in general screening assays for particular groups of fish viruses have been developed, whereas MAbs with more restricted specificities permit the rapid serotyping of fish viruses and, in some cases, the identification of specific virus strains. The large number and variety of MAbs now available for some fish viruses, such as the aquatic birnaviruses and rhabdoviruses, present an ideal opportunity to select appropriate MAbs to construct standardized virus identification assays for use by all fish pathologists worldwide. Furthermore, these MAbs have been used to identify specific epitopes that stimulate a protective immune response to many fish viruses, and to investigate the mechanisms of antibody-mediated neutralization of fish viruses. They also have been used to study the epidemiology of specific viruses as well as antigenic variation and the mechanisms by which new strains arise. Such information is important for the development of reliable diagnostic assays for short-term control methods as well as the development of effective vaccines for long-term control of virus diseases in fish. This article presents a brief overview of MAb production and a review of some current applications of MAbs in the identification and characterization of viruses of fish.