免疫学技术

Regardless of how effective a vaccine may be in the laboratory, unless the suspension can be stabilized for storage and distribution, its commercial potential will be limited. Lyophilization (freeze-drying) is a well-established technique used in the pharmaceutical industry for st ...

Tetrameric major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I-peptide complexes (tetramers) are a powerful tool in the study of antigen-specific CD8+ T cell responses (1,2). Although the interaction of a monomeric MHC-peptide complex with the T-cell receptor is of a low affinity and fast off- ...

For more than a century, humoral immunity has been recognized as the principal mechanism of defense against most bacterial infections. To evaluate the immunogenicity of vaccines, a variety of assays may be employed, although it is essential that the assay of choice should be a good surrogate for c ...

The availability of complete genome sequences offers a new position from which to approach vaccine and drug design. Indeed, in some instances, genome-sequencing projects have been initiated with these motives. It is true that every drug target and vaccine candidate is either coded direct ...

New or improved vaccines require testing before they are licensed for use in the general population. Although toxicity and immunological data can be obtained from Phase I human trials, in the vast majority of cases it is not possible to demonstrate efficacy by challenging vaccine recipients w ...

Ensuring the consistent safety and efficacy of a vaccine has long been recognized as an essential element in a successful disease-control program. Indeed, the development of appropriate laboratory methods to characterize a vaccine with respect to its component antigens, safety, and p ...

The volume entitled DNA Vaccines: Methods and Protocols was published in this series as recently as 2000, and thus it is no more than 3 yr since the authors of this volume surveyed the scene and prepared their chapters for publication. Yet progress continues to be rapid in this exciting field, and an update is ...

Organizations that are involved primarily in research activities, such as academic departments, may often be largely unaware of the economics and regulations related to the production of a biopharmaceutical in a licensed facility using current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP). ...

Poxviruses are among prime candidates for generation of recombinant virus vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer. Poxvirus-based experimental vaccines have already proven to be efficient with regard to antigen delivery and the induction of antigen-specific immune ...

A continuously expanding body of data supports the use of recombinant viral vectors as vehicles in vaccination. Studies have shown that when antigen-expressing viral vectors are used alone or in boosting following a naked DNA prime, the T- and B-cell responses elicited are both broader and of a hi ...

There has been increasing interest in developing delivery vehicles for use as mucosally administered vaccines. Lactobacillus lactis is a harmless noninvasive bacterium with a history of safe use in the food industry, which makes it more acceptable than attenuated pathogens for vacci ...

The purpose of this chapter is to present basic strategies for the construction of DNA vaccines. This chapter discusses considerations relevant to the selection of a target gene, construction of a DNA expression vector for use as a vaccine, and molecular modifications of the vector to improve p ...

For more than three decades, plasmids have been widely used in the biotechnology arena. Historically, they have been most often employed for the expression of heterologous proteins in a variety of microorganisms. More recently, plasmids have been used as vectors for the delivery of antigen e ...

As an alternative to DNA-based vaccines, messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines present additional safety features: no persistence, no integration in the genome, no induction of autoantibodies. Moreover, mRNA which are generated by in vitro transcription, are easy to produce in large amo ...

In DNA vaccination, an exciting new immunization technique with potential applications in clinical medicine, expression plasmid DNA containing antigen-encoding sequences cloned under heterologous promoter control are delivered by techniques that lead in vivo to antigen e ...

DNA can be used as a generic delivery vector in addition to its genetic role as a antigen expression vector. This is inspired in part by the fact that DNA molecules are true polymers. Surprisingly, DNA molecules have not been used as a delivery vector material. This is probably due to the fact that almost all DNA h ...

A characteristic of a successful DNA vaccine is its trafficking to the nucleus where it can be transcribed. Plasmid DNA coupled to a delivery vector must enter the cell, navigate its way through endocytic compartments, and ultimately reach the nucleus. Currently, the precise pathway taken by p ...

Although DNA immunization remains a very attractive method to induce immunity to a variety of pathogens, the transfection efficiency is still relatively low. This is especially true in species other than mice. One way of improving this efficiency is to temporarily permeabilize the cells to ...

The development of needle-free injection originally stemmed from a general apprehension of needle injections, disease transmission by accidental needle-sticks, and the need for effective mass immunization. Naked DNA vaccines, as attractive and universal as they appear, have not ...

Encapsulating DNA within degradable delivery vehicles such as micro- or nanospheres provides an effective way to protect the DNA from the surrounding environment prior to delivery. The ability to target these vehicles directly to the cell type of interest provides a way to enhance the overa ...