To more accurately assess the activity and role of epithelial cell-derived antimicrobial peptides in their native settings, it is essential to perform assays at the surfaces under relevant conditions. In order to carry this out, we utilize three-dimensional cultures of airway and gingi ...
Over the past decade, the emergence of bacterial strains resistant to conventional antibiotics has necessitated the discovery and development of new antimicrobial therapies. This chapter describes a skin infection model that is based on the use of excised skin derived from the domestic ...
It is widely accepted that cationic antimicrobial peptides possess potent microbicidal properties. Recent studies show that in addition to their antimicrobial action, these peptides can exhibit anti-inflammatory activity. The purpose of this chapter is to describe in vivo ear inf ...
One of the most significant advances in medical history is the discovery and development of antibiotics, which in the middle of last century was flourishing and appeared to be the ultimate solution to the treatment of life-threatening human bacterial diseases. However, lately there has been a ...
Host defense peptides (HDPs) are relatively small, mostly cationic, amphipathic, and of variable length, sequence, and structure. The majority of these peptides exhibit broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and often activity against viruses and some cancer cell lines. In addit ...
This chapter describes a computer-based method for analyzing the quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSAR) of antimicrobial peptides. Quantitative or qualitative activity measurements and known peptide sequences are used as input for the analysis. The analy ...
Recent advances in molecular dynamics (MD) simulation methods and in available computational resources have allowed for more reliable simulations of biological phenomena. From all-atom MD simulations, we are now able to visualize in detail the interactions between antimicrobi ...
Rapid and accurate detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) provides pathogen-specific diagnosis, allows implementation of appropriate infection control measures, and improves patient management. One diagnostic challenge is that respiratory infections, which ...
Large numbers and functionally competent T cells are required to protect from diseases for which antibody-based vaccines have consistently failed (1), which is the case for many chronic viral infections and solid tumors. Therefore, therapeutic vaccines aim at the induction of strong an ...
To develop novel adjuvants for use in humans, the efficacy/toxicity (E/T) ratio of experimental products in large animal species can be investigated. The test model included two intramuscular immunizations in pigs at 3 weeks interval and analysis of immune responses and local reactions 1 w ...
The activity of several potent adjuvants, including incomplete Freund’s adjuvant, CpG oligodeoxynucleotides, and alum, has been shown to be due at least in part to the induction of cytokines, including type I interferons (IFNs), IFN-γ, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and IL-12, that play key roles in the re ...
Mucosal vaccination offers the advantage of blocking pathogens at the portal of entry, improving patient’s compliance, facilitating vaccine delivery, and decreasing the risk of unwanted spread of infectious agents via contaminated syringes. Recent advances in vaccinology ha ...
In recent times vaccine adjuvants, or immunopotentiators, received abundant attention in the media as critical ingredients of current and future vaccines. Indeed, vaccine adjuvants are recognized to make the difference between competing vaccines based on identical antigens. M ...
To ensure the safe administration of vaccines to humans, vaccines (just like any new chemical entity) are evaluated in a series of nonclinical safety assessment studies that aim at identifying the potential toxicities associated with their administration. The nonclinical safety as ...
Recent knowledge on vaccine-induced immunity led to the development of vaccine Adjuvant Systems specially designed and adapted to vaccine needs. AS04 is such a tailored Adjuvant System developed by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals. This chapter focuses on the methods that were used dur ...
Important new knowledge about the effect of aluminum adjuvants on the immune response in terms of their impact on cytokine profiles, uptake by antigen-presenting cells (APC), and surface marker expression has been published in recent years. However, although the knowledge about these ad ...
Many preclinical and clinical results indicate that liposomal systems can serve as effective adjuvants to subunit vaccines by enabling the formulation and delivery of vaccine antigens and immunopotentiators. The adjuvant effect of liposomes usually depends on both the composi ...
Quality control and quality assurance procedures are discussed for the agreed benchmark standard Freund’s complete adjuvant (FCA). In addition, the use of the incomplete adjuvant (FIA) in the preparation of antisera is discussed. A major problem is the use of a safe and suitable mineral oil in FCA ...
Recombinant proteins are increasingly being used as a novel approach for antigens in vaccines. These genetically engineered antigens are poorly immunogenic and require a delivery system and adjuvant to elicit their effect at targeted site of action. A delivery system transports the an ...
Efficient vaccines against intracellular microbes or tumors will be based on innovative adjuvants able to induce efficient activation of dendritic cells. Indeed, natural or synthetic products activating Toll-like receptors (TLR) on dendritic cells (DCs) are currently in devel ...