MedWorm: Veterinary Vaccinations

Use of a reduced (4-dose) vaccine schedule for postexposure prophylaxis to prevent human rabies: recommendations of the advisory committee on immunization practices.

MMWR Recomm Rep — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This report summarizes new recommendation and updates previous recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent human rabies (CDC. Human rabies prevention---United States, 2008: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. MMWR 2008;57[No. RR-3]). Previously, ACIP recommended a 5-dose rabies vaccination regimen with human diploid cell vaccine (HDCV) or purified chick embryo cell vaccine (PCECV). These new recommendations reduce the number of vaccine doses to four. The reduction in doses recommended for PEP was based in part on evidence from rabies virus pathogenesis data, experimental animal work, clinical studies, and epidemiologic surveillance. These studies indicated that 4 vaccine doses in c...

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In this issue – April 2010

Australian Veterinary Journal — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:39:56 +0100

Intrasynovial catheterisation for antimicrobial administration into equine joints · Foot measurements in Kaimanawa feral horses · Myofibroblastic fibrosarcoma after equine influenza vaccination · Prepartum diet and blood metabolites in dairy cows · Potential non-surgical alternative to mulesing · Myelodysplasia in two beef calves · Parenteral barium selenate for selenium deficiency in cattle (Source: Australian Veterinary Journal)

Myofibroblastic fibrosarcoma with multifocal osseous metaplasia at the site of equine influenza vaccination

Australian Veterinary Journal — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We describe a fibrosarcoma in a 12-year-old Quarterhorse × Arabian gelding as a sequela to equine influenza vaccination. Shortly after the second vaccination, swelling at the site was noticed by the owner and it continued to increase in size over the following 6 months. Biopsy of the mass indicated a fibrosarcoma had developed at the vaccination site. It was approximately 20 cm in diameter and elevated well above the level of the skin. There was no clinical evidence of metastases to the lungs or local lymph nodes. Surgical resection of the mass was performed and the wound healed by first and second intention. Histopathological examination and immunohistochemical staining confirmed a myofibroblastic fibrosarcoma with multifocal osseous metaplasia. To the authors' knowledge, this is the fir...

HIV Vaccine Strategy Expands Immune Responses

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0100

Two teams of researchers including Los Alamos National Laboratory theoretical biologists Bette Korber, Will Fischer, Sydeaka Watson, and James Szinger have announced an HIV vaccination strategy that has been shown to expand the breadth and depth of immune responses in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys provide the best animal model currently available for testing HIV vaccines... (Source: Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today)

HIV Vaccine Strategy Expands Immune Responses

Health News from Medical News Today — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:00:00 +0100

Two teams of researchers including Los Alamos National Laboratory theoretical biologists Bette Korber, Will Fischer, Sydeaka Watson, and James Szinger have announced an HIV vaccination strategy that has been shown to expand the breadth and depth of immune responses in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys provide the best animal model currently available for testing HIV vaccines. The research appeared in two back-to-back articles in Nature Medicine this week, and outlines a strategy, called "mosaic vaccines," for reducing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Immunotherapy Can Reject Intracranial Tumor Cells without Damaging the Brain despite Sharing the Target Antigen.

Journal of Immunology — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Bridle BW, Li J, Jiang S, Chang R, Lichty BD, Bramson JL, Wan Y Although vaccines targeting tissue differentiation Ags represent a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy, the risk of triggering autoimmune damage to normal tissues remains to be determined. Immunizing against a melanoma-associated Ag, dopachrome tautomerase (DCT), which normal melanocytes and glial cells also express, allowed concurrent analysis of autoimmune consequences in multiple tissues. We show that vaccination with recombinant adenovirus expressing DCT elicited a strong CTL response in C57BL/6 mice, leading to protection against intracranial challenge with B16-F10 melanoma cells. Both histological analysis and behavioral testing indicated that there was no evidence of neuropathology in vaccinated ani...

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74-kiloDalton Immunodominant Antigen of the Pathogenic Oomycete Pythium insidiosum is a Putative Exo-1,3-ss Glucanase.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Krajaejun T, Keeratijarut A, Sriwanichrak K, Lowhnoo T, Rujirawat T, Petchthong T, Yingyong W, Kalambaheti T, Smithipat N, Juthayothin T, Sullivan TD The oomycetous, fungus-like, aquatic organism Pythium insidiosum is the causative agent of pythiosis, a life-threatening infectious disease of humans and animals, living in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Common sites of infection are the arteries, eyes, cutaneous/subcutaneous tissue and the gastrointestinal tract. Diagnosis of pythiosis is time-consuming and difficult. Radical excision of infected organs is the main treatment for pythiosis because conventional antifungal drugs are ineffective. An immunotherapeutic vaccine prepared from P. insidiosum crude extract showed limited efficacy in the treatment of pythiosis...

Peptide Vaccination Breaks Tolerance to HER-2/neu by Generating Vaccine-Specific FasL+ CD4+ T Cells: First Evidence for Intratumor Apoptotic Regulatory T Cells.

Cell Research — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Gritzapis AD, Voutsas IF, Lekka E, Papamichail M, Baxevanis CN BALB/c mice transgenic (Tg) for the transforming rat neu oncogene (BALB-neuT) are genetically predestined to develop mammary carcinogenesis in a process similar to that in humans. We crossed HLA-A2.1/HLA-DR1 (A2.1/DR1) Tg mice with BALB-neuT mice to generate A2.1/DR1 x BALB-neuT triple Tg (A2.1/DR1 x neuT(+)) mice, which represent an improvement over BALB-neuT mice for evaluating vaccination regimens to overcome tolerance against HER-2/neu. A vaccine formulation strategy, consisting of synthetic peptides from the rat HER-2/neu oncogene combined with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor, was highly effective in preventing the growth of established transplantable tumors in male A2.1/DR1 x neuT(+) mice. Va...

Naive tumor-specific CD4+ T cells differentiated in vivo eradicate established melanoma

The Journal of Experimental Medicine — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:12:57 +0100

In vitro differentiated CD8+ T cells have been the primary focus of immunotherapy of cancer with little focus on CD4+ T cells. Immunotherapy involving in vitro differentiated T cells given after lymphodepleting regimens significantly augments antitumor immunity in animals and human patients with cancer. However, the mechanisms by which lymphopenia augments adoptive cell therapy and the means of properly differentiating T cells in vitro are still emerging. We demonstrate that naive tumor/self-specific CD4+ T cells naturally differentiated into T helper type 1 cytotoxic T cells in vivo and caused the regression of established tumors and depigmentation in lymphopenic hosts. Therapy was independent of vaccination, exogenous cytokine support, CD8+, B, natural killer (NK), and NKT cells. Proper ...

Molecular characterization of a Chinese vaccine strain of transmissible gastroenteritis virus: mutations that may contribute to attenuation

Virus Genes — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:27:05 +0100

In this study, we report the complete genome sequences of strains H165 and H16, obtained by sequencing several overlapping fragments amplified from viral RNA and our findings from sequence and phylogenetic analyses. The genomes were 28,569 nucleotides in length, including the poly (A) tail. No deletions or insertions were detected in the H16 genome sequence after continuous passage in vitro; however, we found 27 nucleotide mutations in strain H165 compared with strain H16, resulting in 16 amino acid changes distributed among the genes 1, S, 3, and sM. An A to G nucleotide mutation was found in the intergenic region between the 3a and 3b genes. Furthermore, six unique nucleotides identified in the genome sequence of H165 could be used as makers to differentiate the H165 vaccine strai...

Identification Of Immune Cells That Fight Parasites May Promote Allergies And Asthma

Health News from Medical News Today — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Millions of people in both the developing and developed world may benefit from new immune-system research findings from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The Penn Vet researchers, studying how the immune system operates, have discovered a previously unidentified cell population that may be the body's double-edged sword, fighting off parasitic infections but also causing the harmful immune responses that can lead to allergies and asthma... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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Identification Of Immune Cells That Fight Parasites May Promote Allergies And Asthma

Allergy News From Medical News Today — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Molecular characterization of Bovine virus diarrhea viruses species 2 (BVDV-2) from cattle in Turkey

Tropical Animal Health and Production — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:51:31 +0100

Abstract Five BVDV species 2 (BVDV-2) isolates were detected from cattle in Turkey. Phylogenetic analysis was performed based on the 5′ untranslated regions (UTRs) and E2 coding gene regions, respectively. The isolates were closely related to BVDV-2a strains from North America and Canada used as references. This is the first report of the detection of BVDV-2 in naturally infected Turkish cattle. It is important to consider BVDV-2 for planning future BVDV control and vaccination programs in Turkey. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original ResearchDOI 10.1007/s11250-010-9544-zAuthors Tuba Cigdem Oguzoglu, Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Virology 06110 Dışkapı-Ankara TurkeyDilek Muz, Mustafa Kemal University Faculty of Veterinary ...

Targeting early infection to prevent HIV-1 mucosal transmission

Nature — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:40:50 +0100

Authors: Ashley T. Haase Measures to prevent sexual mucosal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 are urgently needed to curb the growth of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic and ultimately bring it to an end. Studies in animal models and acute HIV-1 infection reviewed here reveal potential viral vulnerabilities at the mucosal portal of entry in the earliest stages of infection that might be most effectively targeted by vaccines and microbicides, thereby preventing acquisition and averting systemic infection, CD4 T-cell depletion and pathologies that otherwise rapidly ensue. (Source: Nature)

What Is Rabies? What Causes Rabies?

Health News from Medical News Today — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Rabies is a deadly virus. It is usually transmitted through saliva from the bite of an infected animal, into the bloodstream. The rabies virus is an infection of the central nervous system and causes inflammation of the brain. It is zoonotic, meaning it is transmitted by animals. If treated immediately after a bite, it is possible to prevent rabies. Once a person begins showing signs and symptoms of rabies, the disease is nearly always fatal. For that reason, vaccines to stop the rabies virus from infecting the body are given to anyone who may have a risk of contracting rabies... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Synthetic sex pheromone attracts the leishmaniasis vector Lutzomyia longipalpis to experimental chicken sheds treated with insecticide

BioMed Central — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: We conclude that synthetic pheromone could currently be most effectively deployed for sand fly control through combination with existing insecticide spraying regimes. Development of a standalone pheromone trap remains a possibility, but such devices may require an additional attractive host odour component to be fully effective. (Source: BioMed Central)

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Recombinant Moraxella bovoculi cytotoxin-ISCOM matrix adjuvanted vaccine to prevent naturally occurring infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis

Veterinary Research Communications — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:33:27 +0100

Abstract A randomized, blinded, controlled field trial was conducted during summer 2006 in a northern California, USA, herd of beef cattle to evaluate the efficacy of a recombinant Moraxella bovoculi cytotoxin subunit vaccine to prevent naturally occurring infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis (IBK; pinkeye). A convenience sample comprised of 127 steers were administered a subcutaneous dose of either adjuvant alone (ISCOM matrices; control group) or recombinant M. bovoculi cytotoxin carboxy terminus adjuvanted with ISCOM matrices (MbvA group) and were boostered 21 days later. The steers were examined once weekly for 15 weeks for evidence of IBK. No significant difference in the cumulative proportion of corneal ulcerations was detected between groups. Compared to ...

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics' Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Drugs.com - Clinical Trials — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:22:21 +0100

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 10, 2010 - ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTC.BB: IMUC) announced today that its dendritic cell-based vaccination with cancer stem cells (CSCs) demonstrated a statistically significant survival benefit in... (Source: Drugs.com - Clinical Trials)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

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ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

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ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics` Dendritic Cell-Based Vaccine Demonstrates Statistically Significant Increase in Survival in an Animal Model of Glioblastoma

Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:12:00 +0100

(Source: Clinical Trials And Noteworthy Treatments For Brain Tumors)

Genetic characterization of E2 gene of classical swine fever virus by restriction fragment length polymorphism and phylogenetic analysis

Virus Genes — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:26:17 +0100

Abstract An RT-nested PCR (RT-nPCR)-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses of the E2 gene were developed for genetic subtyping and differentiation of vaccinated and infected classical swine fever virus (CSFV) strains. RT-nPCR identified 96 CSFV-positive samples from 321 clinical specimens from southeastern China during 2003–2008. The PCR products of positive samples were further differentiated using MspI digestion, 23 were identified as the C-strain, 62 as field strains, and 11 as mixture of the vaccine strain and field ones. RFLP with BglI, DdeI, DraI, and PstI were then used for subtyping of the field CSFV isolates. Thirty-eight field isolates phylogenetically classified as subgroup 2.1 based on E2 were divided into 11 subtypes by this RFLP schem...

Serological survey on bovine parainfluenza type 3 in Shahrekord district (Iran)

Comparative Clinical Pathology — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:20:15 +0100

In conclusion, BPIV3 had 30% prevalence in this area. Thus, health management (sufficient ventilation, temperature controlling, and avoiding overcrowding) and vaccination against this virus is recommended. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original ArticleDOI 10.1007/s00580-010-0958-9Authors Gholam Ali Kojouri, Shahrekord University Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine P. O. Box 115 Shahrekord IranFarhid Hemmatzadeh, The University of Adelaide School of Veterinary Science, Williams Building, Roseworthy Campus South Australia 5371 AustraliaCamellia Taghadosi, Shahrekord University School of Veterinary Medicine Shahrekord Iran Journal Comparative Clinical PathologyOnline ISSN 1618-565XPrint ISSN 1618-5641 (Source: Comparative Clinical Pathology)

Performance of the Enferplex TB Assay in GB Cattle and Assessment of Potential Suitability as a DIVA Test.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In this study we assessed the performance of a novel multiplex serological test with sera collected from 96 skin tested animals with bovine tuberculosis, from 93 TB-free animals and from 39 BCG vaccinated cattle. Our results indicate that the test has a relative sensitivity range of 77.0% to 86.5% at corresponding specificity levels of 100.0% to 77.6 %. Comparison with the Bovigam interferon-gamma ante-mortem test revealed that this serology test is significantly more sensitive at specificities above 97.9 %, whilst the Bovigam test was on average about 10 % more sensitive when test specificity was set below 97%. Importantly, this serological multiplex assay does not react with sera from BCG vaccinated calves and is therefore suitable as DIVA test alongside BCG-based vaccine strategies. ...

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Humoral Immune Response in Dogs Naturally Infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and in Dogs after Immunization with a Borrelia Vaccine.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In conclusion, despite serological evidence of infection/immunization no clinical signs of disease were observed. The antibody patterns in a single Western blot did not permit differentiation between the different sources of antigen (vaccine vs. natural infection). However repeated Western blots may be useful for confirmation of infection or vaccination status as time course of specific antibodies levels seem to be different. PMID: 20219882 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Clinical and Vaccine Immunology)

Beneficial dysregulation of the time-course of inflammatory mediators in LITAF-deficient mice.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Srinivasan S, Leeman SE, Amar S To begin understanding the surprising survival of macrophage-specific LPS-induced TNF-alpha factor (macLITAF) deficient animals to a lethal dose of LPS reported earlier, the present follow-up study focuses on the role of LITAF in the regulation of inflammatory cytokines secreted in response to lethal or sub-lethal doses of LPS administered to WT and macLITAF-/- mice. A time-course study of kinase expression in peritoneal macrophages revealed increased phosphorylation of pro-survival kinases Akt, Erk1/2 and RSK in macLITAF-/- mice compared to WT (n=8), confirming their role in LPS-mediated diseases. MacLITAF-/- mice (n=8) survived a lethal dose of LPS plus D-galN expressing lower serum levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines than WT. To ex...

Tumor immunogenicity and responsiveness to cancer vaccine therapy: The state of the art.

Seminars in Immunology — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Schreiber TH, Raez L, Rosenblatt JD, Podack ER Despite enormous effort, promising pre-clinical data in animal studies and over 900 clinical trials in the United States, no cancer vaccine has ever been approved for clinical use. Over the past decade a great deal of progress has been in both laboratory and clinical studies defining the interactions between developing tumors and the immune system. The results of these studies provide a rationale that may help explain the failure of recent therapeutic cancer vaccines in terms of vaccine principles, in selecting which tumors are the most appropriate to target and instruct the design and implementation of state-of-the-art cancer vaccines. PMID: 20226686 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Seminars in Immunology)

Prior infection with classical swine H1N1 influenza viruses is associated with protective immunity to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus

Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions These findings indicate that in experimental animals recently induced immunity to 1918-derived H1N1 seasonal influenza viruses, and to a 1976 swine influenza virus, afford a degree of protection against the 2009 pandemic virus. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of accumulating data suggesting partial protection of older persons during the 2009 pandemic. (Source: Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses)

Molecular cloning and expression of epsilon toxin from Clostridium perfringens type D and tests of animal immunization.

Genetics and Molecular Research — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:08:03 +0100

Authors: Souza AM, Reis JK, Assis RA, Horta CC, Siqueira FF, Facchin S, Alvarenga ER, Castro CS, Salvarani FM, Silva RO, Pires PS, Contigli C, Lobato FC, Kalapothakis E Epsilon toxin produced by Clostridium perfringens types B and D causes enterotoxemia in sheep, goats and calves. Enterotoxemia can cause acute or superacute disease, with sudden death of the affected animal. It provokes huge economic losses when large numbers of livestock are affected. Therapeutic intervention is challenging, because the disease progresses very rapidly. However, it can be prevented by immunization with specific immunogenic vaccines. We cloned the etx gene, encoding epsilon toxin, into vector pET-11a; recombinant epsilon toxin (rec-epsilon) was expressed in inclusion bodies and was used for animal immuni...

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Re-Balancing of Inflammation and Abeta Immunity as a Therapeutic for Alzheimer's Disease-View from the Bedside.

CNS and Neurological Disorders Drug Targets — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Fiala M Morbidities of aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been related to defective functions of both T cells and macrophages leading to brain amyloidosis and inflammation. In AD patients, "inflammaging" may be associated with an increase of incompetent memory T cells and inflammatory cytokines produced by macrophages, whereas defective clearance of amyloid-beta 1-42 (Abeta) may be related to defective transcription of immune genes necessary for Abeta phagocytosis, beta-1,4-mannosyl-glycoprotein 4-beta-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase and Toll-like receptors. However, AD shows considerable heterogeneity of disease manifestations and mechanisms. The approaches to re-balancing Abeta immunity and inflammation are being pursued in transgenic animal models and peripheral blood ...

Amyloid-beta Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's Disease.

CNS and Neurological Disorders Drug Targets — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Fu HJ, Liu B, Frost JL, Lemere CA Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disorder of the brain and the most common form of dementia among the elderly. As the population grows and lifespan is extended, the number of AD patients will continue to rise. Current clinical therapies for AD provide partial symptomatic benefits for some patients; however, none of them modify disease progression. Amyloid-beta (Abeta peptide, the major component of senile plaques in AD patients, is considered to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of AD thereby leading to Abeta as a target for treatment. Abeta immunotherapy has been shown to induce a marked reduction in amyloid burden and an improvement in cognitive function in animal models. Although preclinical studies were success...

Abeta DNA Vaccination for Alzheimer's Disease: Focus on Disease Prevention.

CNS and Neurological Disorders Drug Targets — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Cribbs DH Pre-clinical and clinical data suggest that the development of a safe and effective anti-amyloid-beta (Abeta) immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease (AD) will require therapeutic levels of anti-Abeta antibodies, while avoiding proinflammatory adjuvants and autoreactive T cells which may increase the incidence of adverse events in the elderly population targeted to receive immunotherapy. The first active immunization clinical trial with AN1792 in AD patients was halted when a subset of patients developed meningoencephalitis. The first passive immunotherapy trial with bapineuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against the end terminus of Abeta, also encountered some dose dependent adverse events during the Phase II portion of the study, vasogenic edema in 12 cases, w...

Cause Of Destructive Inflammations Discovered

Biology / Biochemistry News From Medical News Today — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0100

The signaling molecule CD95L, known as "death messenger," causes an inflammatory process in injured tissue after spinal cord injuries and prevents its healing. This discovery was published by scientists of the German Cancer Research Center. In mice, the researchers found out that if they switch off CD95L, the injured spinal cord heals and the animals regain better ability to move... (Source: Biology / Biochemistry News From Medical News Today)

Cause Of Destructive Inflammations Discovered

Health News from Medical News Today — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0100

The signaling molecule CD95L, known as "death messenger," causes an inflammatory process in injured tissue after spinal cord injuries and prevents its healing. This discovery was published by scientists of the German Cancer Research Center. In mice, the researchers found out that if they switch off CD95L, the injured spinal cord heals and the animals regain better ability to move. Therefore, substances which block the death messenger might offer a new approach in the treatment of severe inflammatory diseases. A couple of years ago, Dr... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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Mosaic Vaccines Show Promise In Reducing The Spread Of HIV

Health News from Medical News Today — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0100

Two teams of researchers - including Los Alamos National Laboratory theoretical biologists Bette Korber, Will Fischer, Sydeaka Watson, and James Szinger - have announced an HIV vaccination strategy that has been shown to expand the breadth and depth of immune responses in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys provide the best animal model currently available for testing HIV vaccines. The research appeared in two back-to-back articles in Nature Medicine this week, and outlines a strategy, called "mosaic vaccines," for reducing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Mosaic Vaccines Show Promise In Reducing The Spread Of HIV

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0100

Two teams of researchers - including Los Alamos National Laboratory theoretical biologists Bette Korber, Will Fischer, Sydeaka Watson, and James Szinger - have announced an HIV vaccination strategy that has been shown to expand the breadth and depth of immune responses in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys provide the best animal model currently available for testing HIV vaccines... (Source: Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today)

HIV vaccine strategy expands immune responses

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

(DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory) Two teams of researchers -- including Los Alamos National Laboratory theoretical biologists Bette Korber, Will Fischer, Sydeaka Watson, and James Szinger -- have announced an HIV vaccination strategy that has been shown to expand the breadth and depth of immune responses in rhesus monkeys. Rhesus monkeys provide the best animal model currently available for testing HIV vaccines. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

New horizons for studying human hepatotropic infections

Journal of Clinical Investigation — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:25:43 +0100

The liver serves as a target organ for several important pathogens, including hepatitis B and C viruses (HBV and HCV, respectively) and the human malaria parasites, all of which represent serious global health problems. Because these pathogens are restricted to human hepatocytes, research in small animals has been compromised by the frailty of the current mouse xenotransplantation models. In this issue of the JCI, Bissig et al. demonstrate robust HBV and HCV infection in a novel xenotransplantation model in which large numbers of immunodeficient mice with liver injury were engrafted with significant quantities of human hepatocytes. This technical advance paves the way for more widespread use of human liver chimeric mice and forms the basis for creating increasingly complex humanized mouse ...

A nonhuman primate model of chikungunya disease

Journal of Clinical Investigation — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:25:43 +0100

Chikungunya disease is a severely debilitating, mosquito-borne, viral illness that has reached epidemic proportions in Africa, Asia, and the islands of the Indian Ocean. A mutation enhancing the ability of the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) to infect and be transmitted by Aedes albopictus has increased the geographical range at risk for infection due to the continuing global spread of this mosquito. Research into disease pathogenesis, vaccine development, and therapeutic design has been hindered by the lack of appropriate animal models of this disease. The meticulous study reported in this issue of the JCI by Labadie et al. is one of the first reports describing CHIKV infection of adult immunocompetent nonhuman primates. Using traditional and modern molecular and immunological approaches, the a...

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Genomic characterization of a proventriculitis-associated infectious bronchitis coronavirus

Virus Genes — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:04:49 +0100

Abstract Transmissible proventriculitis associated with infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) was at first seen in eastern China in mid-1995, and is now endemic in China. Herein, the complete genome sequence of a proventiculitis-associated infectious bronchitis coronavirus (ZJ971) was sequenced and analyzed. Compared with the genome of the vaccine strain H120, ZJ971 had 54 nucleotide substitutions and a deletion in the 3′-UTR. The substitutions were in the regions of nsp2–nsp5, nsp7, nsp12, nsp13, nsp15, S and N genes, and the untranslating region. The results indicated that ZJ971 could be a variant of IBV strain H120. Content Type Journal ArticleDOI 10.1007/s11262-010-0461-zAuthors Chao-ting Xiao, Zhejiang University Key Laboratory of Animal Epidemic Etiology & Immun...

Italian Researchers Discover A Possible Onset Mechanism For Multiple Sclerosis

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:00:00 +0100

A non-pathogenic bacterium is capable of triggering an autoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis in the mouse, the model animal which helps to explain how human diseases work... (Source: Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today)

Comparative efficacy of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) vaccines.

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In this study, the potency of these vaccines including a fourth vaccine from Institute of Animal Health and Veterinary Biologicals, Bangalore (IAH&VB) were tested as per the office International des Epizooties (OIE) guidelines by challenge studies in sheep and goats and their efficacies were evaluated using PPR C-ELISA. Potency tests of these vaccines in sheep and goats revealed that three of the vaccines were potent; however, the IAH &VB vaccine was comparatively less potent. The three vaccines could presumably be used for mass vaccination of both sheep and goats while contemplating PPR control program. PMID: 20199873 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Biologicals : Journal of the International Association of Biological Standardization)

Chlamydia trachomatis, a Hidden Epidemic: Effects on Female Reproduction and Options for Treatment

American Journal of Reproductive Immunology — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We examined studies on the epidemiology of C. trachomatis infections, the effects infections have on the female reproductive tract and subsequent reproductive health and what measures are being taken to reduce these problems. Undetected or multiple infections in women can lead to the development of severe reproductive sequelae, including pelvic inflammatory disease and tubal infertility. There are two possible paradigms of chlamydial pathogenesis, the cellular and immunological paradigms. While many vaccine candidates are being extensively tested in animal models, they are still years from clinical trials. With no vaccine available and antibiotic treatment unable to halt the increased incidence, infection rates will continue to increase and cause a significant burden on health care systems...

The immunization-induced antibody response to the Anaplasma marginale major surface protein 2 and its association with protective immunity.

Vaccine — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Noh SM, Zhuang Y, Futse JE, Brown WC, Brayton KA, Palmer GH Many vector-borne pathogens evade clearance via rapid variation in their immunogenic surface expressed proteins. This is exemplified by Anaplasma marginale, a tick-borne bacterial pathogen that generates major surface protein 2 (Msp2) variants to provide for immune escape and allow long-term pathogen persistence. In contrast to persistence following infection, immunization with a surface protein complex, which includes Msp2, induces a response that prevents infection upon challenge. We hypothesized that the immune response induced by immunization altered the anti-Msp2 antibody repertoire as compared to that induced during infection, shifting the immune response toward conserved and thus broadly protective epitopes. Th...

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Vaccination of turkeys against Chlamydophila psittaci through optimised DNA formulation and administration.

Vaccine — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Verminnen K, Beeckman DS, Sanders NN, De Smedt S, Vanrompay DC We have demonstrated that vaccination of turkeys with a unformulated DNA vaccine induces significant protection against Chlamydophila (Cp.) psittaci infections. Nevertheless, the immunogenicity of the DNA vaccine can still be improved by increasing translation and transfection efficiency. Therefore, the ompA codon was adapted to the codon usage in birds, resulting in pcDNA1/MOMP(opt). To increase gene transfer, polyplexes of pcDNA1/MOMP(opt)-EGFP with different cationic polymers, such as linear and branched polyethyleneimine (lPEI and brPEI) and starburst PAMAM dendrimers, and lipoplexes with cationic DOTAP/DOPE liposomes were created. Transfection of lPEI and brPEI polyplexes with an N/P ratio of 8 resulted in the...

Anti-tumor immune response correlates with neurological symptoms in a dog with spontaneous astrocytoma treated by gene and vaccine therapy.

Vaccine — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Pluhar GE, Grogan PG, Seiler C, Goulart M, Santacruz KS, Carlson C, Chen W, Olin MR, Lowenstein PR, Castro MG, Haines SJ, Ohlfest JR Gene therapy and vaccination have been tested in malignant glioma patients with modest, albeit encouraging results. The combination of these therapies has demonstrated synergistic efficacy in murine models but has not been reported in large animals. Gemistocytic astrocytoma (GemA) is a low-grade glioma that typically progresses to lethal malignancy despite conventional therapies. Until now there has been no useful animal model of GemA. Here we report the treatment of a dog with spontaneous GemA using the combination of surgery, intracavitary adenoviral interferon gamma (IFNgamma) gene transfer, and vaccination with glioma cell lysates mixed with ...

Immunogenicity and some safety features of a VEGF-based cancer therapeutic vaccine in rats, rabbits and non-human primates.

Vaccine — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Morera Y, Bequet-Romero M, Ayala M, Velazco JC, Pérez PP, Alba JS, Ancizar J, Rodríguez M, Cosme K, Gavilondo JV We have developed a cancer vaccine candidate (hereafter denominated CIGB-247), based on recombinant modified human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as antigen, and the adjuvant VSSP (very small sized proteoliposomes of Neisseria meningitidis outer membrane). In mice, previous work of our group had shown that vaccination with CIGB-247 extended tumor-take time, slowed tumor growth, and increased animal survival. Immunization elicited anti-human and murine VEGF-neutralizing antibodies, and spleen cells of vaccinated mice are cytotoxic in vitro to tumor cells that produce VEGF. We have now tested the immunogenicity of CIGB-247 in Wistar rats, New Zeal...

Sm‐p80–Based DNA Vaccine Provides Baboons with Levels of Protection against Schistosoma mansoni Infection Comparable to Those Achieved by the Irradiated Cercarial Vaccine

The Journal of Infectious Diseases Latest Issue — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 21:50:32 +0100

The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Volume 0, Issue 0, Page 000, Latest Articles. To date, no vaccine is available to prevent human schistosomiasis. We have targeted a protein of Schistosoma mansoni that plays an important role in the surface membrane renewal process, a mechanism widely believed to be utilized by the parasite as an immune evasion strategy. Sm‐p80 antigen is a promising vaccine target because of its documented immunogenicity, protective efficacy, and antifecundity effects observed in both experimental murine and nonhuman primate models of this infectious disease. In the present study, we report that, in a vector approved for human use (VR1020), an Sm‐p80–based DNA vaccine formulation confers a 46% reduction in the worm burden in a baboon (Papio anubis) model. Ba...

Presumptive abortive human rabies --- Texas, 2009.

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkl... — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This report describes the clinical course and laboratory findings of an adolescent girl with encephalitis who had not had rabies vaccination and who had been exposed to bats 2 months before illness. Antibodies to rabies virus were detected in specimens of the girl's serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA). However, the presence of rabies VNA was not detected until after she had received single doses of rabies vaccine and human rabies immune globulin (HRIG). Although the patient required multiple hospitalizations and follow-up visits for recurrent neurologic symptoms, she survived without intensive care. No alternate etiology was determined, and abortive human rabies (defined in this report as recovery from rabies without intensive care) was diagnosed...

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AF03-adjuvanted and non-adjuvanted pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 vaccines induce strong antibody responses in seasonal influenza vaccine-primed and unprimed mice.

Vaccine — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Caillet C, Piras F, Bernard MC, de Montfort A, Boudet F, Vogel FR, Hoffenbach A, Moste C, Kusters I Pandemic influenza vaccines have been manufactured using the A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) strain as recommended by the World Health Organization. We evaluated in mice the immunogenicity of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine and the impact of prior vaccination against seasonal trivalent influenza vaccines (TIV) on antibody responses against pandemic (H1N1) 2009. In naïve mice, a single dose of unadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine (3mug of HA) was shown to elicit hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibody titers >40, a titer associated with protection in humans against seasonal influenza. A second vaccine dose of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccine strongly increased these titers, which were consis...

Vets Remind Owners To Protect Their Pets Before The Summer Holidays

Health News from Medical News Today — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:00:00 +0100

It may seem like a never-ending winter in the UK, but vets are already looking forward to summer and reminding pet owners to find out about the requirements for taking their pets abroad in plenty of time. As the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) reaches its 10th anniversary on 28th February 2010, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) are advising pet owners to talk to their vets about the vaccinations and other treatments their animals will need to travel overseas and return to the UK... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Combined vaccination against IL-5 and eotaxin blocks eosinophilia in mice.

Vaccine — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Zou Y, Sonderegger I, Lipowsky G, Jennings GT, Schmitz N, Landi M, Kopf M, Bachmann MF Interleukin-5 (IL-5) is a cytokine which is essential for the maturation of eosinophils in bone marrow and for their release into the blood. Eotaxin is a CC type chemokine implicated in the recruitment of eosinophils in a variety of inflammatory disorders. Since eosinophil-activity is governed by these two pathways, we targeted both IL-5 and eotaxin by active vaccination to block eosinophilia. We produced two vaccines by chemically cross-linking IL-5 or eotaxin to a virus-like particle (VLP) derived from the bacteriophage Qbeta, yielding highly repetitive arrays of these cytokines on the VLP surface. Both vaccines overcame self-tolerance and induced high antibody titers against the correspon...

Prime and boost immunization with influenza and adenovirus encoding the Toxoplasma gondii surface antigen 2 (SAG2) induces strong protective immunity.

Vaccine — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Machado AV, Caetano BC, Barbosa RP, Salgado AP, Rabelo RH, Garcia CC, Bruna-Romero O, Escriou N, Gazzinelli RT In this work, we explored an original vaccination protocol using recombinant influenza and adenovirus. We constructed recombinant influenza viruses harboring dicistronic NA segments containing the surface antigen 2 (SAG2) from Toxoplasma gondii under control of the duplicated 3' promoter. Recombinant influenza viruses were able to drive the expression of the foreign SAG2 sequence in cell culture and to replicate efficiently both in cell culture and in lungs of infected mice. In addition, mice primed with recombinant influenza virus and boosted with a recombinant adenovirus encoding SAG2 elicited both humoral and cellular immune responses specific for SAG2. Moreover, w...

Immunization of cattle with recombinant Newcastle disease virus expressing bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) glycoprotein D induces mucosal and serum antibody responses and provides partial protection against BHV-1.

Vaccine — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Khattar SK, Collins PL, Samal SK Bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) is a major cause of respiratory tract diseases in cattle. Vaccination of cattle against BHV-1 is a high priority. A major concern of currently modified live BHV-1 vaccines is their ability to cause latent infection and subsequent reactivation resulting in many outbreaks. Thus, there is a need for alternative strategies. We generated two recombinant Newcastle disease viruses (NDVs) expressing the glycoprotein D (gD) of BHV-1 from an added gene. One recombinant, rLaSota/gDFL, expressed gD without any modification. The other recombinant, rLaSota/gDF, expressed a chimeric gD in which the ectodomain of gD was fused with the transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic tail of the NDV fusion F glycoprotein. Remarkably, the native...

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A new era in anticancer peptide vaccines

Cancer — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The use of synthetic peptides as vaccines aimed at the induction of therapeutic CD8-positive T-cell responses against tumor cells initially experienced great enthusiasm, mostly because of advances in vaccine technology, including design, synthesis, and delivery. However, despite impressive results in animal models, the application of such vaccines in humans has met with only limited success. The therapeutic activity of vaccine-stimulated, tumor-specific, CD8-positive T cells can be hampered through the physical burden of the tumor, tolerance mechanisms, and local factors within the tumor microenvironment. Recently, accumulating evidence has suggested that combining a peptide-based therapeutic vaccination with conventional chemotherapy can uncover the full potential of the antitumor immune ...

Protection of pregnant mice, fetuses and neonates from lethality of H5N1 influenza viruses by maternal vaccination.

Vaccine — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Hwang SD, Shin JS, Ku KB, Kim HS, Cho SW, Seo SH The highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses are one of candidates for the next pandemic. Information on protective immunity for pregnant animals by vaccination against the H5N1 influenza virus is limited. Here, we show that the immunization of pregnant mice with inactivated H5N1 influenza vaccine protects them, their fetuses, and their infant mice from H5N1 influenza viruses. Pregnant mice immunized with two doses of H5N1 influenza vaccine were protected from homologous infections of H5N1 influenza viruses with no viruses detected in fetuses, and that they were protected upto 30% from heterologous infections of H5N1 influenza viruses with viruses detected in fetuses. The infant mice born to mothers immunized with H5N1 influenza...

Protection against lethal Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) infection in transgenic IFNAR(-/-) mice induced by different DNA vaccination regimens.

Vaccine — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Lorenzo G, Martín-Folgar R, Hevia E, Boshra H, Brun A In this work, plasmid constructs encoding two different M segment ORFs, as well as the nucleoprotein N, have been used in different vaccination regimes to test protection against a RVFV-MP12 virus challenge in a transgenic mouse model with impaired interferon type I response (IFNAR(-/-)). We obtained dose dependent protection in animals immunized with a construct encoding both mature glycoproteins (pCMV-M4), whereas only partial protection in animals vaccinated with either N construct (pCMV-N) or a combination of both plasmids (pCMV-M4+pCMV-N). The protection elicited by the expression of the mature glycoproteins could be directly related to the induction of neutralizing antibodies against them. Interestingly, the comb...

An Adenoviral Vaccine Encoding Full-Length Inactivated Human Her2 Exhibits Potent Immunogenicty and Enhanced Therapeutic Efficacy without Oncogenicity.

Clinical Breast Cancer — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

CONCLUSIONS: Vaccination with mutationally inactivated, nononcogenic Ad-HER2-ki results in robust polyclonal immune responses to HER2 in tolerant models, which translates into strong and effective antitumor responses in vivo. Ad-HER2-ki is thus a safe and promising vaccine for evaluation in clinical trials. Clin Cancer Res; 16(5); 1466-77. PMID: 20179231 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Clinical Breast Cancer)

An immunotherapeutic treatment against flea allergy dermatitis in cats by co-immunization of DNA and protein vaccines.

Vaccine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This study demonstrates that a co-immunization approach as described can be used to treat flea-induced allergic disease in animals, thus implicating its potential for a practical clinical application. PMID: 20188255 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source: Vaccine)

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Repeated DNA therapeutic vaccination of chronically SIV-infected macaques provides additional virological benefit.

Vaccine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Valentin A, von Gegerfelt A, Rosati M, Miteloudis G, Alicea C, Bergamaschi C, Jalah R, Patel V, Khan AS, Draghia-Akli R, Pavlakis GN, Felber BK We have previously reported that therapeutic immunization by intramuscular injection of optimized plasmid DNAs encoding SIV antigens effectively induces immune responses able to reduce viremia in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-treated SIVmac251-infected Indian rhesus macaques. We subjected such therapeutically immunized macaques to a second round of therapeutic vaccination using a combination of plasmids expressing SIV genes and the IL-15/IL-15 receptor alpha as molecular adjuvant, which were delivered by the more efficacious in vivo constant-current electroporation. A very strong induction of antigen-specific responses to Gag, Env, Nef,...

Systemic immunization with CCL27/CTACK modulates immune responses at mucosal sites in mice and macaques.

Vaccine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Kraynyak KA, Kutzler MA, Cisper NJ, Khan AS, Draghia-Akli R, Sardesal NY, Lewis MG, Yan J, Weiner DB Plasmid DNA is a promising vaccine platform that has been shown to be safe and able to be administered repeatedly without vector interference. Enhancing the potency of DNA vaccination through co-delivery of molecular adjuvants is one strategy currently under investigation. Here we describe the use of the novel chemokine adjuvant CCL27/CTACK to enhance immune responses to an HIV-1 or SIV antigen in mice and rhesus macaques. CCL27 has been shown to play a role in inflammatory responses through chemotaxis of CCR10+ cells, and we hypothesized that CCL27 may modulate adaptive immune responses. Immunizations in mice with HIV-1gag/CCL27 enhanced immune responses both at peripheral and...

Immunostimulatory CpG oligonucleotides: Effect on gene expression and utility as vaccine adjuvants.

Vaccine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Klinman DM, Klaschik S, Tomaru K, Shirota H, Tross D, Ikeuchi H Synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) containing unmethylated CpG motifs mimic the immunostimulatory activity of bacterial DNA. CpG ODN directly stimulate B cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC), promote the production of Th1 and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and trigger the maturation/activation of professional antigen presenting cells. CpG ODN are finding use as vaccine adjuvants, where they increase the speed, magnitude and duration of vaccine-specific immune responses. For example, CpG ODN significantly prolong the protection induced by AVA (Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed). Unexpectedly, a majority of animals immunized with CpG-adjuvanted AVA maintain resistance to anthrax infection even after their Ab titers d...

Novel mucosal vaccines generated by genetic conjugation of heterologous proteins to pneumolysin (PLY) from Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Vaccine — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Douce G, Ross K, Cowan G, Ma JT, Mitchell TJ Induction of immunity at mucosal surfaces is thought to be an essential feature in the protection of the host against the many pathogens that gain access through these surfaces. Here we describe how strong local and systemic immune responses can be generated when proteins are genetically conjugated to pneumolysin (PLY) from Streptococcus pneumoniae. Using green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and PsaA from S. pneumoniae, we have shown that genetic fusion (eGFPPLY and PsaAPLY) is essential to ensure high levels of antigen specific IgG and IgA in the serum and at mucosal surfaces. This form of vaccination is highly effective with antigen specific antibodies detected after a single dose of nanogram quantities of the conjugated proteins. In ...

CD122(+)CD8(+) regulatory T cells suppress vaccine-induced antitumor immune responses in lymphodepleted mice.

European Journal of Immunology — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Wang LX, Li Y, Yang G, Pang PY, Haley D, Walker EB, Urba WJ, Hu HM Lymphodeleption prior to adoptive transfer of tumor-specific T cells greatly improves the clinical efficacy of adoptive T-cell therapy for patients with advanced melanoma, and increases the therapeutic efficacy of cancer vaccines in animal models. Lymphodepletion reduces competition between lymphocytes, and thus creates "space" for enhanced expansion and survival of tumor-specific T cells. Within the lymphodepleted host, antigen-specific T cells still need to compete with other lymphocytes that undergo lymphopenia-driven proliferation. Herein we describe the relative capacity of naïve, regulatory T cells, and NK cells to undergo lymphopenia-driven proliferation. We found that the major population that unde...

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Eimeria maxima recombinant Gam82 gametocyte antigen vaccine protects against coccidiosis and augments humoral and cell-mediated immunity.

Vaccine — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Jang SI, Lillehoj HS, Lee SH, Lee KW, Park MS, Cha JS, Lillehoj EP, Subramanian BM, Sriraman R, Srinivasan VA Intestinal infection with Eimeria, the etiologic agent of avian coccidiosis, stimulates protective immunity to subsequent colonization by the homologous parasite, while cross-protection against heterologous species is poor. As a first step toward the development of a broad specificity Eimeria vaccine, this study was designed to assess a purified recombinant protein from Eimeria maxima gametocytes (Gam82) in stimulating immunity against experimental infection with live parasites. Following Gam82 intramuscular immunization and oral parasite challenge, body weight gain, fecal oocyst output, lesion scores, serum antibody response, and cytokine production were assessed to e...

Assessment of the Efficacy of Commercially Available and Candidate Vaccines against a Pandemic H1N1 2009 Virus

The Journal of Infectious Diseases Latest Issue — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:20:40 +0100

Conclusions. The present study demonstrates that a single dose of matched inactivated vaccine confers partial protection against a pandemic H1N1 2009 virus, and it suggests that a higher dose or prime‐boost regimen may be required. The consequences of mismatched immunity to influenza merit further investigation. (Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases Latest Issue)

UF Veterinarians Say Dolphins Could Be Ideal Model To Study Human Cervical Cancer

Health News from Medical News Today — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0100

After testing dozens of samples from marine mammals, University of Florida aquatic animal health experts say dolphins may be the ideal model for the study of cervical cancer in people. "We discovered that dolphins get multiple infections of apillomaviruses, which are known to be linked with cervical cancer in women," said Hendrik Nollens, a marine mammal biologist and clinical assistant professor at UF's College of Veterinary Medicine at the annual meeting of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

UF Veterinarians Say Dolphins Could Be Ideal Model To Study Human Cervical Cancer

Genetics News From Medical News Today — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:00:00 +0100

Nonclinical Safety Assessment of Vacciness and Adjuvants

Springer protocols feed by Immunology — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:39:06 +0100

To ensure the safe administration of Vacciness to humans, Vacciness (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 assessment of Vacciness, however, is only part of a testing battery performed prior to human administration, which includes (1) the evaluation of the Vaccines in efficacy and immunogenicity studies in animal models, (2) a quality control testing program, and (3) toxicology (nonclinical safety assessment) testing in relevant animal models. Although each of these evaluations plays a critical role in ensuring Vaccines safety, the nonclinical safety assessment is the most relevant to the evaluation in human clinical t...

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Micro/Nanoparticle Adjuvants: Preparation and Formulation with Antigens

Springer protocols feed by Immunology — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:39:06 +0100

Recombinant proteins are increasingly being used as a novel approach for antigens in Vacciness. 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 antigen to site of action and an adjuvant activates the cells via interaction with cell receptors and enhances the potency of the antigen. Micro/nanoparticles made from biodegradable and biocompatible polyesters, polylactide-co-glycolides (PLG), have been extensively used as an adjuvant and delivery system. This chapter discusses the applications of PLG micro/nanoparticles as delivery systems and adjuvant for antigens. PLG microparticles are prepared by a solvent evaporation method while nanoparticles are prepa...

A Challenge Model for Shigella dysenteriae 1 in Cynomolgus Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).

Comparative Medicine — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:34:03 +0100

Authors: Shipley ST, Panda A, Khan AQ, Kriel EH, Maciel M, Livio S, Nataro JP, Levine MM, Sztein MB, Detolla LJ Shigella dysenteriae type 1 can cause devastating pandemics with high case fatality rates; a vaccine for Shigella is unavailable currently. Because of the risks associated with performing challenge studies with wild-type S. dysenteriae 1 in human clinical trials to advance vaccine development, an improved nonhuman primate model is needed urgently. In the present study, cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) were challenged with various doses of S. dysenteriae 1 strain 1617 to establish a dose that would produce shigellosis. Further, different routes of delivery of S. dysenteriae 1 were compared to establish the most appropriate route for infection. Animals receiving 10(11)...

Escherichia coli O157:H7 Infection in Dutch Belted and New Zealand White Rabbits.

Comparative Medicine — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:34:03 +0100

Authors: Panda A, Tatarov I, Melton-Celsa AR, Kolappaswamy K, Kriel EH, Petkov D, Coksaygan T, Livio S, McLeod CG, Nataro JP, O'Brien AD, Detolla LJ Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) produce one or more types of Shiga toxins and are foodborne causes of bloody diarrhea. The prototype EHEC strain, Escherichia coli O157:H7, is responsible for both sporadic cases and serious outbreaks worldwide. Infection with E. coli that produce Shiga toxins may lead to diarrhea, hemorrhagic colitis, or (less frequently) hemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause acute kidney failure. The exact mechanism by which EHEC evokes intestinal and renal disease has not yet been determined. The development of a readily reproducible animal oral-infection model with which to evaluate the full pathogenic pot...

GeoVax Labs, Inc. Reports Data On Prototype Adjuvant - Supplemented HIV Vaccine Tested In Preclinical Animal Studies

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0100

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GOVX) (the "Company"), an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), announced that it presented the results of a preclinical study on a prototype HIV/AIDS vaccine at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco... (Source: Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today)

GeoVax Labs, Inc. Reports Data On Prototype Adjuvant - Supplemented HIV Vaccine Tested In Preclinical Animal Studies

Health News from Medical News Today — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0100

GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GOVX) (the "Company"), an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), announced that it presented the results of a preclinical study on a prototype HIV/AIDS vaccine at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco. The oral presentation, "Preclinical Studies on DNA/MVA Vaccines: Co-expressed GM-CSF, a Strong Adjuvant for Prevention of Infection," was presented by Dr... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

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Heal yourself in 15 days by correcting your "nature deficiency" (part nine)

NaturalNews.com — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) Do you suffer from a "nature deficiency?" If you'd like most people in modern society, you spend most of your 24 hours of the day indoors. You work under artificial fluorescent lights, you eat and sleep inside a house or apartment, you commute in the artificial environment of a car, bus or train. You rarely get outside and even when you do, it's not real nature -- it's some artificial "planned" park with concrete sidewalks and maintained lawns.I suspect you may have a nature deficiency. I know because I've been there. Probably much like you, I spent a lot of time outdoors as a child, but in my adult years, I found myself spending more and more hours indoors. It didn't take long to realize that breathing re-circulated indoor air and having little or no time in nature wasn't a ...

A Bayesian Approach to Quantifying the Effects of Mass Poultry Vaccination upon the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of H5N1 in Northern Vietnam

PLoS Computational Biology — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Author Summary Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 continues to spread rapidly between flocks of poultry in many parts of the world including areas in Southeast Asia and Africa where infection has become endemic. Meanwhile the number of human cases and fatalities are steadily accumulating. As a result, the control of outbreaks in poultry remains both a key public and animal health priority. In Vietnam control policies have evolved from a policy of reliance upon drastic “stamping out” measures to regular mass vaccination campaigns. Using Bayesian data augmentation techniques in order to take into account the unobserved infection times, we found that this has led to a significant reduction in the daily probability of transmission between communes but that the time taken to detect out...

Towards a Brucella vaccine for humans

FEMS Microbiology Reviews — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

There is currently no licensed vaccine for brucellosis in humans. Available animal vaccines may cause disease and are considered unsuitable for use in humans. However, the causative pathogen, Brucella, is among the most common causes of laboratory-acquired infections and is a Center for Disease Control category B select agent. Thus, human vaccines for brucellosis are required. This review highlights the considerations that are needed in the journey to develop a human vaccine, including animal models, and includes an assessment of the current status of novel vaccine candidates. (Source: FEMS Microbiology Reviews)

A Bayesian Approach to Quantifying the Effects of Mass Poultry Vaccination upon the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of H5N1 in Northern Vietnam

PLoS Computational Biology — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

GeoVax Labs, Inc. Reports Data on Prototype Adjuvant - Supplemented HIV Vaccine Tested in Preclinical Animal Studies

Drugs.com - Clinical Trials — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 20:45:06 +0100

Results From Study Using Non-human Primates Indicate 70% Level of Protection From Infection Presentation Made at Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections ATLANTA, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (OTC Bulletin... (Source: Drugs.com - Clinical Trials)

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Cancer Vaccine by Fusions of Dendritic and Cancer Cells

Clinical and Developmental Immunology — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:39:04 +0100

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells and play a central role in the initiation and regulation of primary immune responses. Therefore, their use for the active immunotherapy against cancers has been studied with considerable interest. The fusion of DCs with whole tumor cells represents in many ways an ideal approach to deliver, process, and subsequently present a broad array of tumor-associated antigens, including those yet to be unidentified, in the context of DCs-derived costimulatory molecules. DCs/tumor fusion vaccine stimulates potent antitumor immunity in the animal tumor models. In the human studies, T cells stimulated by DC/tumor fusion cells are effective in lysis of tumor cells that are used as the fusion partner. In the clinical trials, clinical and immunolog...

Limiting the Impacts of Foot and Mouth Disease in Large Ruminants in Northern Lao People's Democratic Republic by Vaccination: A Case Study

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is the most important global transboundary livestock disease and is endemic in Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) with outbreaks occurring regularly. Lao PDR shares borders with five countries and as a major thoroughfare for transboundary livestock movement, is vulnerable to the social and economic impacts of FMD. The FMD outbreak occurred in January 2009 in the Pek District, located in the north-eastern Lao PDR province of Xieng Khuang and involved all 111 villages in that district. In March 2009, we conducted a case study on the impacts of FMD in four villages in Pek District. In two villages cattle and buffalo were vaccinated for FMD recently and prior to the outbreak as part of an ongoing research project. In one of these villages, all cattle and bu...

Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Model for Designing HIV/AIDS Vaccines.

Current HIV Research — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Yamamoto JK, Sanou MP, Abbott JR, Coleman JK Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) discovered in 1986 is a lentivirus that causes AIDS in domestic cats. FIV is classified into five subtypes (A-E), and all subtypes and circulating intersubtype recombinants have been identified throughout the world. A commercial FIV vaccine, consisting of inactivated subtype-A and -D viruses (Fel-O-Vax FIV, Fort Dodge Animal Health), was released in the United States in 2002. The United States Department of Agriculture approved the commercial release of Fel-O-Vax FIV based on two efficacy trials using 105 laboratory cats and a major safety trial performed on 689 pet cats. The prototype and commercial FIV vaccines had broad prophylactic efficacy against global FIV subtypes and circulating intersubt...

EIAV Envelope Diversity: Shaping Viral Persistence and Encumbering Vaccine Efficacy.

Current HIV Research — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Craigo JK, Montelaro RC Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) and its associated disease have presented a considerable challenge to veterinary medicine worldwide ever since its identification in the 19(th) century. Furthermore EIAV, along with its fellow animal lentiviruses, has been utilized as an animal model of HIV-1/AIDS research since the latters identification in the late 20(th) century. Like all lentiviruses, EIAV has been shown to have a high propensity for genomic sequence and antigenic variation, principally in its envelope (Env) proteins. However, unlike other lentiviruses, EIAV possesses a unique and dynamic disease presentation that enables consummate analyses of the interactions between a virus, host immune system, and the effects of viral evolution on vaccine ef...

Removal of Toxoplasma gondii Cysts from the Brain by Perforin-Mediated Activity of CD8+ T Cells.

The American Journal of Pathology — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Suzuki Y, Wang X, Jortner BS, Payne L, Ni Y, Michie SA, Xu B, Kudo T, Perkins S Chronic infection with Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasitic infections in humans. Formation of tissue cysts is the basis of persistence of the parasite in infected hosts, and this cyst stage has generally been regarded as untouchable. Here we provide the first evidence that the immune system can eliminate T. gondii cysts from the brains of infected hosts when immune T cells are transferred into infected immunodeficient animals that have already developed large numbers of cysts. This T cell-mediated immune process was associated with accumulation of microglia and macrophages around tissue cysts. CD8(+) immune T cells possess a potent activity to remove the cysts. The initiation of t...

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Special thank you to all NaturalNews readers from the Health Ranger

NaturalNews.com — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) I've been writing for NaturalNews now for over six years, and in that time the most important thing I've come to realize isn't something about herbs, or nutrients, or Big Pharma... it's that I'm blessed to have you as a reader. And in this thank-you article, I'd like to share exactly why I feel to blessed and honored to continue writing for you.When I was a kid, I used to volunteer in nursing homes. I would bring water to the elderly patients and refill the cups on their bedside stands. At the time, I thought my job was to deliver water -- it wasn't until many years later that I realized my true job was to bring these elderly patients something far more important: The smile and conversation of a young boy. The water was inconsequential compared to the joy these elderly patien...

Novel serological tests for the rapid diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis in farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus): a study of the sensitivity, specificity and confounding factors.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Buddle BM, Wilson T, Denis M, Greenwald R, Esfandiari J, Lyashchenko KP, Liggett S, Mackintosh CG In this communication, novel serological tests were assayed to detect tuberculosis (TB) infections in groups of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus) varying in their disease status or possible confounding factors. Groups of deer naturally or experimentally-infected with bovine TB, and animals vaccinated against paratuberculosis were studied, as well as uninfected animals and animals naturally or experimentally infected with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Sera were assayed using two rapid lateral flow tests, Chembio's CervidTB STAT-PAK(R) and DPP(R) VetTB tests, and results compared to those from tuberculin skin tests. Both serological tests had a high sensitivity, ...

Characterization of ferritin 2 for the control of tick infestations.

Vaccine — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Hajdusek O, Almazán C, Loosova G, Villar M, Canales M, Grubhoffer L, Kopacek P, de la Fuente J Ixodes ricinus is one the most abundant tick species in Europe and these ticks transmit pathogens causing human and animal diseases. The cattle ticks, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) spp., affect cattle production in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Development of vaccines directed against tick proteins may reduce tick infestations and the transmission of tick-borne pathogens. However, a limiting step in tick vaccine development has been the identification of tick protective antigens. Herein, the tick iron metabolism pathway was targeted in an effort to identify new tick protective antigens. Recombinant I. ricinus (IrFER2) and R. microplus (RmFER2) ferritin 2 proteins we...

Immunogenic properties of a recombinant fusion protein containing the C-terminal 19kDa of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein-1 and the innate immunity agonist FliC flagellin of Salmonella Typhimurium.

Vaccine — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Bargieri DY, Leite JA, Lopes SC, Sbrogio-Almeida ME, Braga CJ, Ferreira LC, Soares IS, Costa FT, Rodrigues MM In a recent study, we demonstrated the immunogenic properties of a new malaria vaccine polypeptide based on a 19kDa C-terminal fragment of the merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP1(19)) from Plasmodium vivax and an innate immunity agonist, the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium flagellin (FliC). Herein, we tested whether the same strategy, based on the MSP1(19) component of the deadly malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, could also generate a fusion polypeptide with enhanced immunogenicity. The His(6)FliC-MSP1(19) fusion protein was expressed from a recombinant Escherichia coli and showed preserved in vitro TLR5-binding activity. In contrast to animals injected wit...

Quantitative single serum dilution liquid phase competitive blocking ELISA for the assessment of herd immunity and expected protection against foot-and-mouth disease virus in vaccinated cattle.

Journal of Virological Methods — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Robiolo B, La Torre J, Duffy S, Leon E, Seki C, Torres A, Mattion N A single serum-dilution liquid phase ELISA (slpELISA) was standardized to be used for serological evaluation of herd immunity against foot-and-mouth disease. The absorbance value at a dilution 1:64 of each serum sample was interpolated in a standard curve by plotting the antibody titers of six control sera determined by end point dilution liquid phase ELISA (lpELISA), against the absorbance values for the same control sera at 1:64 dilutions. A straight line was obtained by linear regression analysis (r>0.90) in the titer range of 1.40 to 2.40. The reliability of the antibody titers was confirmed by the simultaneous titration of 60 cattle sera by slpELISA and lpELISA, which showed an acceptable correlation (...

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Thirty-six predictions for the world: 2010 - 2012

NaturalNews.com — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0100

This article isn't the place to detail what's involved in that, but know that despite all the predictions I've listed here, I'm an optimist! I believe the world will go through a very difficult time in the next decade (or more), but We the People will emerge stronger, more resourceful, more humbled and with a sense of renewed freedom in creating whatever future we desire.I will continue to bring you news and information as we face the coming challenges and emerge from it on the other side. Join me here on NaturalNews.com for news and updates on all the issues that matter to us in creating a brighter, more sustainable world for our collective future.The future is nothing to be feared. The rise and fall of nations is a normal, natural cycle that's been observed throughout world history. The ...

Evaluation of human antibody responses to keyhole limpet hemocyanin on a carbohydrate microarray

Proteomics. Clinical Applications — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions and clinical relevance: Antibodies to TACAs can be produced in humans, but antibody profiles differ considerably from person to person, which may contribute to variable clinical responses with KLH. Pre-treatment antibody levels to certain antigens may be useful for predicting which patients will respond favorably to KLH. (Source: Proteomics. Clinical Applications)

Evaluation of hepatic changes and local and systemic immune responses in goats immunized with recombinant Peroxiredoxin (Prx) and challenged with Fasciola hepatica.

Vaccine — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Mendes RE, Pérez-Écija RA, Zafra R, Buffoni L, Martínez-Moreno A, Dalton JP, Mulcahy G, Pérez J Protection against Fasciola hepatica in goats immunized with Peroxiredoxin (Prx) was assessed. The experimental trial consisted of three groups of seven animals; group 1 were unimmunized and uninfected, group 2 were immunized with adjuvant only and group 3 were immunized with recombinant Prx in adjuvant (immunized and infected) .Immunization with Prx in Quil A adjuvant, group 3, induced a reduction in fluke burden of 33.04% when compared to adjuvant control, group 2, although this difference was not significant. The hepatic gross and microscopical morphometric study revealed lower damage in the Prx-immunized compared to group 3 (p<0.05). Furthermore, immunohis...

Badger culls fail to halt spread of cattle tuberculosis

Guardian Unlimited Science — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:05:07 +0100

Widespread culls of infected herds has only short-term success, survey by Imperial College and Zoological Society of London finds• Badger cull goes ahead in Wales• Comment: The war on nature resumesBadger culling is unlikely to halt the spread of tuberculosis in British cattle herds, according to a survey of disease in regions where culls were trialled.Widespread and repeated culls reduced the numbers of infected cattle, but the disease returned to its original level four years after the programme ended, scientists found. Managing badger populations to stop them spreading TB to cattle cost more than the impact of the disease, researchers from Imperial College and the Zoological Society of London said.Farmers have urged the government to permit a large-scale cull to deal with the effec...

Badger culls fail to halt spread of bovine TB

Guardian Unlimited Science — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:05:07 +0100

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Badger culls fail to stop bovine TB

Guardian Unlimited Science — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:05:07 +0100

BTV8: Still Out - Let's Keep It Out, UK

Health News from Medical News Today — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0100

Vigilance and vaccination remains the key to keeping British livestock free from Bluetongue. This is the message from the national JAB campaign group reminding farmers to protect their animals against disease in 2010. JAB is issuing a reminder to farmers and livestock keepers to vaccinate their animals against the disease, which is still causing major problems across Europe and as a result farmers in England and Wales still face a very real threat of potential incursions... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

BTV8: Still Out - Let's Keep It Out, UK

Veterinary News From Medical News Today — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:00:00 +0100

Imatinib has a fatal impact on morphology, pairing stability and survival of adult Schistosoma mansoni in vitro.

International Journal for Parasitology — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Beckmann S, Grevelding CG Schistosomes cause bilharzia (schistosomiasis), one of the most prevalent parasitic diseases for human and animals worldwide. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the only widely used drug for treatment and control of this parasitemia. Since a vaccine is not yet available, and in light of emerging resistance against PZQ, the search for alternatives has high priority. Here we present that Imatinib, a compound used in human cancer therapy (Gleevec; STI-571), significantly affected schistosome morphology and physiology invitro. Besides its negative effect on gonad development and pairing stability, Imatinib led to pathological alterations of the gastrodermis, which finally caused the death of the parasite. PMID: 20149792 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] (Source:...

Andrew Wakefield, Scientific Censorship, and Fourteen Monkeys; A statement by Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey

NaturalNews.com — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) When it comes to vaccines, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey get it. They see how the pharma industry is engineering a campaign to silence Dr. Andrew Wakefield in order to suppress the publication of startling new evidence linking vaccines to severe neurological damage.At great risk to their professional careers, Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey have found the courage to dare to tell the truth about vaccines and autism. Despite the vicious attacks by the pro-vaccine zealots who will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who challenges conventional vaccine mythology, McCarthy and Carrey have issued a powerful, inspired statement that reveals the truth behind the Big Pharma smear campaign that is intent on destroying the reputation of Dr. Andrew Wakefield before he can publish the final r...

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A Piglet Model of Acute Gastroenteritis Induced by Shigella dysenteriae Type 1

The Journal of Infectious Diseases Latest Issue — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:46:49 +0100

Conclusion. We conclude that piglets are highly susceptible to shigellosis, providing a useful tool with which to compare vaccine candidates for immunogenicity, reactogenicity, and response to challenge; investigate the role of virulence factors; and test the efficacy of microbial agents. (Source: The Journal of Infectious Diseases Latest Issue)

Optimised electroporation mediated DNA vaccination for treatment of prostate cancer

Genetic Vaccines and Therapy — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Background: Immunological therapies enhance the ability of the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells via selective killing mechanisms. DNA vaccines have potential to activate the immune system against specific antigens, with accompanying potent immunological adjuvant effects from unmethylated CpG motifs as on prokaryotic DNA. We investigated an electroporation driven plasmid DNA vaccination strategy in animal models for treatment of prostate cancer. Methods: Plasmid expressing human PSA gene (phPSA) was delivered in vivo by intra-muscular electroporation, to induce effective anti-tumour immune responses against prostate antigen expressing tumours. Groups of male C57 BL/6 mice received intra-muscular injections of phPSA plasmid. For phPSA delivery, quadriceps muscle was inject...

CpG oligodeoxyribonucleotides protect mice from Burkholderia pseudomallei but not Francisella tularensis Schu S4 aerosols.

Journal of Immune Based Therapies and Vaccines — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Studies have shown that CpG oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODN) protect mice from various bacterial pathogens, including Burkholderia pseudomallei and Francisella tularensis live vaccine strain (LVS), when administered before parenteral challenge. Given the potential to develop CpG ODN as a pre-treatment for multiple bacterial biological warfare agents, we examined survival, histopathology, and cytokine data from CpG ODN-treated C57BL/6 mice to determine whether previously-reported protection extended to aerosolized B. pseudomallei 1026b and highly virulent F. tularensis Schu S4 infections. We found that, although CpG ODN protected mice from aerosolized B. pseudomallei challenges, the immunostimulant failed to benefit the animals exposed to F. tularensis Schu S4 aerosols. Our results, which co...

The anti-tumor effect of Newcastle disease virus HN protein is influenced by differential subcellular targeting

Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:55:00 +0100

Conclusion The membrane-anchored form of the HN protein appears to be an ideal candidate to develop as an immunotherapeutic agent for NSCLC. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original ArticleDOI 10.1007/s00262-010-0821-5Authors Hong Sui, The Tumor Hospital Affiliated Harbin Medical University Medical Department Harbin 150040 Heilongjiang ChinaYuxian Bai, The Tumor Hospital Affiliated Harbin Medical University Medical Department Harbin 150040 Heilongjiang ChinaKaibing Wang, The Second Hospital Affiliated Harbin Medical University Interventional Department Harbin Heilongjiang ChinaXi Li, Harbin Veterinary Medicine Division of Swine Disease, National Key Laboratory of Veterinary Biotechnology Harbin Heilongjiang ChinaChun Song, The First Hospital Affiliated Harbin Medi...

Immunization with two recombinant Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccines that combine the expression of multiple tandem repeats of mucin-1 and colony stimulating-factor suppress breast tumor growth in mice

Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:48:16 +0100

Conclusions rBCG-MVNTR4-CSF and rBCG-MVNTR8-CSF vaccines may be good candidates for breast tumor immunotherapy. Content Type Journal ArticleCategory Original PaperDOI 10.1007/s00432-010-0787-xAuthors Shifang Yuan, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery 17 Changle West Road Xi’an 710033 People’s Republic of ChinaChanghong Shi, Laboratory Animal Research Center of the Fourth Military Medical University 17 Changle West Road Xi’an 710033 People’s Republic of ChinaRui Ling, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University Department of Vascular and Endocrine Surgery 17 Changle West Road Xi’an 710033 People’s Republic of ChinaTing Wang, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University Department of Va...

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Elimination of Taenia solium transmission to pigs in a field trial of the TSOL18 vaccine in Cameroon.

International Journal for Parasitology — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Assana E, Kyngdon CT, Gauci CG, Geerts S, Dorny P, Deken RD, Anderson GA, Zoli AP, Lightowlers MW A pilot field trial of the TSOL18 vaccine was undertaken in Cameroon. Two hundred and forty, 2-3 month old piglets were distributed to 114 individual households in pairs. Vaccinated animals received three immunisations with 200 mug TSOL18 plus 5 mg Quil A and 30 mg/kg oxfendazole at the time of the second immunization. Necropsies were undertaken when the pigs were approximately 12 months of age. Viable Taenia solium cysticerci were identified in 20 control pigs (prevalence 19.6%); no cysticerci were found in any of the vaccinated animals (P < 0.0001). Combined application of TSOL18 vaccination and a single oxfendazole treatment in pigs may be a relatively simple and sustainable...

A Novel HLA (HLA-A*0201) Transgenic Rabbit Model for Preclinical Evaluation of Human CD8+ T Cell Epitope-Based Vaccines against Ocular Herpes.

Journal of Immunology — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Chentoufi AA, Dasgupta G, Christensen ND, Hu J, Choudhury ZS, Azeem A, Jester JV, Nesburn AB, Wechsler SL, Benmohamed L We introduced a novel humanized HLA-A*0201 transgenic (HLA Tg) rabbit model to assess the protective efficacy of a human CD8(+) T cell epitope-based vaccine against primary ocular herpes infection and disease. Each of the three immunodominant human CD8(+) T cell peptide epitopes from HSV-1 glycoprotein D (gD(53-61), gD(70-78), and gD(278-286)) were joined with a promiscuous human CD4(+) T cell peptide epitope (gD(49-82)) to construct three separate pairs of CD4-CD8 peptides. Each CD4-CD8 peptide pair was then covalently linked to an N(epsilon)-palmitoyl-lysine residue via a functional base lysine amino group to construct CD4-CD8 lipopeptides. HLA Tg rabbits w...

Important Changes For Equine Owners - Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Health News from Medical News Today — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Effective January 31, 2010, equine owners, intending to sell animals directly or indirectly to Canadian meat processors, are being advised to record certain information. Equine owners who wish to keep their sale options open should record all vaccines, medications given (administered or fed) to their animals and record any occurrence of illness in their animals... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Important Changes For Equine Owners - Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Veterinary News From Medical News Today — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:00:00 +0100

Molecular characterization of swine leucocyte antigen class II genes in outbred pig populations.

Animal Genetics — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In this study, we present a simple and rapid molecular-based typing system for characterizing SLA class II alleles of the DRB1, DQB1 and DQA loci. This system utilizes a set of 47 sequence-specific PCR primers developed to differentiate alleles by groups that share similar sequence motifs. We applied this typing method to investigate the SLA class II diversity in four populations of outbred pigs (n = 206) and characterized a total of 19 SLA class II haplotypes, six of which were shared by at least three of the sampled pig populations. We found that Lr-0.1 (DRB1*01XX-DQB1*01XX-DQA*01XX) was the most prevalent haplotype with a combined frequency of 16.0%, followed by Lr-0.2 (DRB1*02XX-DQB1*02XX-DQA*02XX) with 14.6% and Lr-0.15b (DRB1*04XX-DQB1*0202-DQA*02XX) with 14.1%. Over 70% of the pigs ...

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Heal yourself in 15 days by recognizing your innate healing power (part two)

NaturalNews.com — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0100

This article continues our 15-part article series called Heal Yourself in 15 Days. In part one, we looked at why the real secret to rapid healing is to remove the barriers to healing (http://www.naturalnews.com/028053_self_healing_quality_of_life.html). In part two, we look at why your healing potential is so powerful that you can't even turn it off!When you scrape your elbow, a bit of blood oozes out to clean the wound and wash away bacteria. It then forms a protective scab that keeps out invading microorganisms while your skin has a chance to heal underneath. There, some real magic takes place: Your skin cells innately recognize the need to divide and grow to fill the wound. A cancer-like process is unleashed at the cellular level, activating nearby cells to divide and grow. Your DNA is ...

Questionnaire survey about the motives of commercial livestock farmers and hobby holders to vaccinate their animals against Bluetongue virus serotype 8 in 2008-2009 in the Netherlands.

Vaccine — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Elbers AR, de Koeijer AA, Scolamacchia F, van Rijn PA After a massive epidemic of Bluetongue virus serotype 8 (BTV-8) among ruminants in 2006-2007 in the European Union (EU), the Netherlands started a voluntary emergency vaccination campaign in May 2008, subsidized by the EU. At the start of a new campaign in 2009, without subsidized vaccination, we investigated by mail survey the motives of farmers and hobby holders to vaccinate against BTV-8 in 2008 and 2009. Mean vaccine uptake in 2008 was: 73% in sheep, 71% in cattle, 43% in goat farms and 67% in hobby holdings. Top-5 motives pro-vaccination were: prevention of production loss; subsidized vaccination; recommendation by practitioner; welfare reasons; contribution to the eradication campaign. Top-5 motives against vaccinatio...

Autologous tumor-derived heat-shock protein peptide complex-96 (HSPPC-96)in patients with metastatic melanoma

Journal of Translational Medicine — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusion: Treatment with autologous tumor-derived HSPPC-96 was feasible and safe at all doses tested. Observed immunological effects and antitumor activity were modest, precluding selection of a biologically active dose. Nevertheless, the 25 microgram dose level was shown to be practical for further study. (Source: Journal of Translational Medicine)

Development and statistical validation of a guinea pig model for vaccine potency testing against Infectious Bovine Rhinothracheitis (IBR) virus.

Vaccine — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Parreño V, López MV, Rodriguez D, Vena MM, Izuel M, Filippi J, Romera A, Faverin C, Bellinzoni R, Fernandez F, Marangunich L Infectious Bovine Rhinothracheitis (IBR) caused by bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) infection is distributed worldwide. BoHV-1 either alone or in association with other respiratory cattle pathogens causes significant economic losses to the livestock industry. The aim of this work was to validate a guinea pig model as an alternative method to the current BoHV-1 vaccine potency testing in calves. Guinea pigs were immunized with two doses of vaccine, 21 days apart and sampled at 30 days post vaccination (dpv). BoHV-1 antibody (Ab) response to vaccination in guinea pigs, measured by ELISA and virus neutralization (VN), was statistically compared to th...

Schistosomiasis vaccine discovery using immunomics

Parasites and Vectors — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The recent publication of the Schistosoma japonicum and S. mansoni genomes has expanded greatly the opportunities for post-genomic schistosomiasis vaccine research. Immunomics protein microarrays provide an excellent application of this new schistosome sequence information, having been utilised successfully for vaccine antigen discovery with a range of bacterial and viral pathogens, and malaria. Accordingly, we have designed and manufactured a Schistosoma immunomics protein microarray as a vaccine discovery tool. The microarray protein selection combined previously published data and in silico screening of available sequences for potential immunogens based on protein location, homology to known protective antigens, and high specificity to schistosome species. Following cloning, selected se...

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Antibodies against Crandell Rees Feline Kidney (CRFK) Cell Line Antigens, α-Enolase, and Annexin A2 in Vaccinated and CRFK Hyperinoculated Cats

Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This study validated the use of Western blot immunoassay for detection of antibodies against CRFK proteins and identified 3 CRFK antigens. In humans, [alpha]-enolase antibodies are nephritogenic; [alpha]-enolase and annexin A2 antibodies have been associated with autoimmune diseases. Further research will be necessary to determine the clinical relevance of these findings. (Source: Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine)

Effect of oral immunization with pooled antigens derived from adipose tissue on atherosclerosis and obesity indices.

Vaccine — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Bourinbaiar AS, Jirathitikal V Modulation of the inflammatory response through vaccination has shown promise in animal models of atherogenesis and obesity-main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Tableted preparation, V-6, containing pooled antigens derived from pig adipose tissue was administered per os daily to 13 volunteers for 3 months. Total cholesterol and LDL levels have not changed from the baseline value; 193.4 vs 191.8 (p=0.75) and 113.8 vs 117.2 (p=0.18), respectively. Triglyceride levels declined by 26.1% from 163 to 120.5mg/dL (p=0.29). HDL increased by 25.9% from 38.6 to 48.5mg/dL (p=0.000002) in 12 out 13 patients. Despite negligible effect of V6 on weight and body mass index, i.e., 67.87 vs 66.58kg (-1.9%; p=0.46) and 26.25 vs 25.75kg/m(2) (-1.9%; p=0.35)...

Immunogenicity and efficacy of a DNA vaccine encoding a human anti-idiotype single chain antibody against nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Vaccine — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Luo C, Wang JJ, Li YH, Hu JY, Li GC G22, an anti-idiotype single chain antibody screened from human nasopharyngeal carcinoma phage anti-idiotype antibody library, has been already identified by He et al. G22 DNA vaccine was produced by cloning G22 gene and inserting the cloned gene into pcDNA3.1. To investigate the immunogenicity of pcDNA3.1-G22, C57BL/6 mice were immunized with the vaccine, pcDNA3.1 and PBS individually and the antibody response, T cell phenocyte at the 15th, 22th, 29th, 36th day after the last immunity were detected. In the tumor protection experiment, the immunized mice were then challenged with CMT-93-G22 cells or CMT-93-mock cells. The tumor size and the survival time of the animals were compared between these groups. The results showed that DNA vaccine p...

Emerging Opportunities for Site-Specific Molecular and Cellular Interventions in Autoimmune Hepatitis

Digestive Diseases and Sciences — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:03:38 +0100

Abstract Current corticosteroid-based treatments of autoimmune hepatitis frequently have incomplete or unsatisfactory outcomes, side effects, and excessive immune suppression. The goal of this review is to describe the advances in developing animal models of autoimmune hepatitis and in treating diverse immune-mediated diseases that make pursuit of site-specific molecular and cellular inventions in autoimmune hepatitis feasible. Prime source and review articles in English were selected by a Medline search through October 2009. A murine model infected with an adenovirus expressing human CYP2D6 is a resource for evaluating new therapies because of its histological and serological features, persistence, and progressive hepatic fibrosis. Synthetic analog peptides that block aut...

Ki-67 staining for determination of rhesus macaque T cell proliferative responses ex vivo

Cytometry Part A — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

We describe a gating strategy using Ki-67 and side light scatter, also a marker of blastogenesis, which correlates strongly with data from CFSE dilution. We show that this method is a valid tool for measuring RM antigen-specific cellular proliferation ex vivo and can be used as an alternative to CFSE dilution assays. © 2010 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (Source: Cytometry Part A)

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The IgA antibody response of swine to foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) infection and vaccination.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Pacheco JM, Butler JE, Jew J, Ferman GS, Zhu J, Golde WT Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) continues to be a significant economic problem worldwide. Control of the disease involves the use of killed virus vaccines, a control measure developed decades ago. After natural infection, the primary site of replication of FMDV is the pharyngeal area suggesting a mucosal immune response would be the most effective. Humoral immunity to killed virus vaccination induces antibodies that can prevent the clinical disease but not local infection. Determining whether infection or vaccination stimulates IgA-mediated local immunity depends on the method of analysis. Different assays have been described to analyze the quality of antibody responses of cattle and swine to FMDV, including indirect...

Inactivation of respiratory syncytial virus by zinc finger reactive compounds

BioMed Central — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: This work presents evidence that compounds that inactivate retroviruses by targeting the zinc finger motif in their nucleocapsid proteins are also effective against RSV. AT-2-inactivated RSV vaccine is not strongly immunogenic in the absence of adjuvants. In the adjuvanted form, however, vaccine induces immunopathologic response. The mere preservation of surface antigens of RSV, therefore may not be sufficient to produce a highly-efficacious inactivated virus vaccine that does not lead to an atypical disease. (Source: BioMed Central)

Immunization with an attenuated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus deleted in E protein protects against lethal respiratory disease.

Virology — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Netland J, Dediego ML, Zhao J, Fett C, Alvarez E, Nieto-Torres JL, Enjuanes L, Perlman S The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) caused substantial morbidity and mortality in 2002-2003. Deletion of the envelope (E) protein modestly diminished virus growth in tissue culture but abrogated virulence in animals. Here, we show that immunization with rSARS-CoV-DeltaE or SARS-CoV-Delta[E,6-9b] (deleted in accessory proteins (6, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b) in addition to E) nearly completely protected BALB/c mice from fatal respiratory disease caused by mouse-adapted SARS-CoV and partly protected hACE2 Tg mice from lethal disease. hACE2 Tg mice, which express the human SARS-CoV receptor, are extremely susceptible to infection. We also show that rSARS-CoV-DeltaE and rSARS-...

[Review] Possible underlying mechanisms for successful emergence of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing genotype strains

The Lancet Infectious Diseases — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

The wide geographic distribution of one clade of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the Beijing genotype family, and its genetic homogeneity, suggests that strains belonging to this grouping might have a selective advantage over other M tuberculosis strains. This hypothesis was addressed by reviewing molecular-epidemiological, experimental, and clinical studies. Beijing strains represent about 50% of strains in east Asia and at least 13% of strains worldwide. Their emergence might be linked to escape from BCG vaccination, and to multidrug resistance, which is associated with the Beijing genotype in many areas. Different animal models have shown Beijing strains to be more virulent, and to cause more histopathological changes, higher outgrowth, and increased mortality. At a molecular level, Beijing...

What "skeptics" really believe about vaccines, medicine, consciousness and the universe

NaturalNews.com — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0100

(NaturalNews) In the world of medicine, "skeptics" claim to be the sole protectors of intellectual truth. Everyone who disagrees with them is just a quack, they insist. Briefly stated, "skeptics" are in favor of vaccines, mammograms, pharmaceuticals and chemotherapy. They are opponents of nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, chiropractic care, massage therapy, energy medicine, homeopathy, prayer and therapeutic touch.But there's much more that you need to know about "skeptics." As you'll see below, they themselves admit they have no consciousness and that there is no such thing as a soul, a spirit or a higher power. There is no life after death. In fact, there's not much life in life when you're a skeptic.What skeptics really believeI thought it would be interesting to find out exactl...

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Role of Plasmodium berghei cGMP-dependent Protein Kinase in Late Liver Stage Development [Molecular Basis Of Cell and Developmental Biology]

Journal of Biological Chemistry — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:36:02 +0100

The liver is the first organ infected by Plasmodium sporozoites during malaria infection. In the infected hepatocytes, sporozoites undergo a complex developmental program to eventually generate hepatic merozoites that are released into the bloodstream in membrane-bound vesicles termed merosomes. Parasites blocked at an early developmental stage inside hepatocytes elicit a protective host immune response, making them attractive targets in the effort to develop a pre-erythrocytic stage vaccine. Here, we generated parasites blocked at a late developmental stage inside hepatocytes by conditionally disrupting the Plasmodium berghei cGMP-dependent protein kinase in sporozoites. Mutant sporozoites are able to invade hepatocytes and undergo intracellular development. However, they remain blocked a...

Vaccination or culling best to prevent foot-and-mouth disease, computer models suggest

ScienceDaily Headlines — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0100

Researchers are finding that if a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak is not in the epidemic stage, preemptive vaccination is a minimally expensive way to halt the disease's spread across a network of animals. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)

Serological Survey of Bluetongue Virus Serotype-8 Infection in South American Camelids in Switzerland (2007–2008)

Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This study suggests a low susceptibility of SAC to BTV-8 despite the presence of the virus in the cattle and small ruminant population, indicating that SAC do not play a major role in the epidemiology of BTV-8. Furthermore, these results indicate that commercially available serological tests for BTV-8 can be used in SAC. (Source: Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine)

Disposable bioreactors: the current state-of-the-art and recommended applications in biotechnology.

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Eibl R, Kaiser S, Lombriser R, Eibl D Disposable bioreactors have increasingly been incorporated into preclinical, clinical, and production-scale biotechnological facilities over the last few years. Driven by market needs, and, in particular, by the developers and manufacturers of drugs, vaccines, and further biologicals, there has been a trend toward the use of disposable seed bioreactors as well as production bioreactors. Numerous studies documenting their advantages in use have contributed to further new developments and have resulted in the availability of a multitude of disposable bioreactor types which differ in power input, design, instrumentation, and scale of the cultivation container. In this review, the term "disposable bioreactor" is defined, the benefits and const...

Immunization with host-type CD8{alpha}+ dendritic cells reduces experimental acute GVHD in an IL-10-dependent manner

Blood — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 17:02:35 +0100

Little is known about the role of active immunization in suppressing undesirable immune responses. Because CD8+ dendritic cells (DCs) suppress certain immune responses, we tested the hypothesis that immunization of donors with host-derived CD8+ DCs will reduce host-specific donor T-cell responses. BALB/c T cells from the animals that were immunized with B6 CD8+ DCs demonstrated, in vitro and in vivo, significantly reduced proliferation and secretion of inflammatory cytokines but showed enhanced secretion of interleukin-10 (IL-10). The responses against third-party and model antigens were preserved demonstrating antigen specificity. The in vivo relevance was further demonstrated by the reduction on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in both a major histocompatibility complex–mismatched ...

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The Role of Lipopeptidophosphoglycan in the Immune Response to Entamoeba histolytica

Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:21:00 +0100

The sensing of Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs) by innate immune receptors, such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs), is the first step in the inflammatory response to pathogens. Entamoeba histolytica, the etiological agent of amebiasis, has a surface molecule with the characteristics of a PAMP. This molecule, which was termed lipopeptidophosphoglycan (LPPG), is recognized through TLR2 and TLR4 and leads to the release of cytokines from human monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells; LPPG-activated dendritic cells have increased expression of costimulatory molecules. LPPG activates NKT cells in a CD1d-dependent manner, and this interaction limits amebic liver abscess development. LPPG also induces antibody production, and anti-LPPG antibodies prevent disease development in anima...

Gambia: Veterinary Dept. Offers Free Anti-Rabies Vaccination

AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:03:58 +0100

The director of Veterinary and livestock Services Department, Dr. Kebba Daffeh has revealed that his Department is currently offering free vaccination for dogs against rabies free of charge. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)

Tips from the journals of the American Society for Microbiology

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100

(American Society for Microbiology) The following are tips from the Journals of the American Society for Microbiology: "New Vaccine Strategy May Protect Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus;" "Tree Shrew Offers Small-Animal Model of Hepatitis C Virus Infection" and "Phage Therapy May Reduce Salmonella Infection in Pigs." (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

Immunoproteomics of extracellular proteins of the Aeromonas hydrophila China vaccine strain J-1 reveal a highly immunoreactive outer membrane protein

FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Aeromonas hydrophila is a gram-negative bacterium that can infect a variety of aquatic and terrestrial animals. It is essential to develop a vaccine to reduce the economic losses caused by this bacterium in aquaculture worldwide. Here, an immunoproteomic assay was used to identify the immunogenic extracellular proteins of the Chinese vaccine strain J-1. Ten unique immunogenic proteins were identified from the two-dimensional electrophoresis immunoblot profiles by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) or MALDI-TOF-TOF-MS. One protein of interest, Omp38, was detected by antisera on two-dimensional immunoblots, suggesting that it might be located both extracellularly and in the membrane. In exploring the potential of Omp38 as a vaccine can...

CIITA-driven MHC-II positive tumor cells: Preventive vaccines and superior generators of antitumor CD4+ T lymphocytes for immunotherapy

International Journal of Cancer — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

In our study, we have investigated whether tumors of distinct histological origin can be rejected if expressing CIITA-driven MHC class II molecules. Moreover, we assessed whether antitumor lymphocytes generated by this approach could be used as an immunotherapeutic tool for established cancers. Stable CIITA-transfectants of C51colon adenocarcinoma, RENCA renal adenocarcinoma, WEHI-164 sarcoma as well as TS/A mammary adenocarcinoma were generated. Tumor cells transfectants were injected in vivo, and their growth kinetics and recipient's immune response were analyzed. Tumor rejection and/or retardation of growth was found for the first 3 CIITA-transfected tumor cell lines and confirmed for TS/A-CIITA. Animals rejecting CIITA-transfected tumors acquired specific immunological memory as demons...

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Computer models suggest vaccination or culling best to prevent foot-and-mouth disease

EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0100

(Kansas State University) Kansas State University researchers are finding that if a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak is not in the epidemic stage, preemptive vaccination is a minimally expensive way to halt the disease's spread across a network of animals. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)

Acute mucosal pathogenesis of feline immunodeficiency virus is independent of viral dose in vaginally infected cats

Retrovirology — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Conclusions: Our results indicate that mucosal immune pathogenesis could be used as a rapid indicator of vaccine success or failure when combined with a physiologically relevant low dose mucosal challenge. We also show that innate immune responses may play an important role in controlling viral replication following acute mucosal infection, which has not been previously identified. (Source: Retrovirology)

Rationale and design of the CAPAMIS study: Effectiveness of pneumococcal vaccination against community-acquired pneumonia, acute myocardial infarction and stroke.

BMC Public Health - Latest articles — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

DISCUSSION: The results of the study will contribute to clarify the controversial effect of the PPV-23 in preventing community-acquired pneumonia and they will be critical in determining the posible role of pneumococcal vaccination in cardiovascular prevention. (Source: BMC Public Health - Latest articles)

Characterization of group A rotavirus infections in adolescents and adults from Pune, India: 1993-1996 and 2004-2007

Journal of Medical Virology — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This study documents the molecular epidemiology of rotavirus strains in adolescents and adults in India, and suggests that it may be important to monitor these strains over time for the potential impact on rotavirus vaccines under development for use in the Indian population. J. Med. Virol. 82:519-527, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. (Source: Journal of Medical Virology)

Immunoproteomics of extracellular proteins of the Aeromonas hydrophila China vaccine strain J-1 reveal a highly immunoreactive outer membrane protein

FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

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'Stress - From Molecules To Behavior'

Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:00:00 +0100

Stress is one of the most frequently used 'buzz words' across Western societies with an array of meanings ranging from scientifically defined experimental conditions for laboratory animals to a casual word for a nuisance. In humans, stress is mostly used as a term for psychological hardship and it causes a variety of conditions with, psychological, medical and sociological implications... (Source: Immune System / Vaccines News From Medical News Today)

Enhanced efficacy and immunogenicity of 78kDa antigen formulated in various adjuvants against murine visceral leishmaniasis.

Vaccine — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Authors: Nagill R, Kaur S Leishmania infection causes localized cutaneous to severe visceral disease in humans and animals. Current control measures, based on antimonial compounds, are not effective because of resistance in Leishmania. Vaccination would be a feasible alternative, but as yet no vaccine to protect humans against infection has been commercialized. Parasite antigens that preferentially stimulate the induction of significant protection through Th1 response presents a rational approach for a vaccine against leishmaniasis. With this view in mind, we investigated the potential of 78kDa antigen of Leishmania donovani alone and along with different adjuvants against murine visceral leishmaniasis. Various adjuvants used along with 78kDa antigen include monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL...

Livestock pathology in the central African region: some epidemiological considerations and control strategies.

Animal Health Research Reviews — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This article reviews livestock diseases of economic importance, including foot-and-mouth disease, trypanosomosis and dermatophilosis in cattle, peste des petits ruminants and gastrointestinal helminthosis in sheep and goats, and Newcastle disease in poultry. Some aspects of epidemiology such as pathogen identification, prevalence and risk factors are examined in the light of research findings in the region. Control tools such as vaccines, chemotherapeutic or prophylactic agents, and protocols developed for their efficient use are also reviewed. Constraints to the effective use of these tools have been identified as mostly due to institutional insufficiencies and measures for improvement have been proposed. These include the promotion of private professional veterinary services endowed with...

In vivo immunomodulatory effects of dietary purple sweet potato after immunization in chicken

Animal Science Journal — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0100

This study was intended to determine the modulatory effects of dietary supplementation of purple sweet potato (Ipomoea batats Poir., PSP) on the immune response of chickens. PSP was included in a basal starter diet by 1% (PSPL) or 3% (PSPH) and continually fed. Newcastle disease (NDV) vaccine, Brucella abortus (BA) and sheep red blood cells (SRBC) were used for chicken immunization. Antibody titers against these antigens were used to estimate humoral immunity. Concanavalin A (Con A)-induced proliferations of splenocytes, thymocytes and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), ratios of CD4- and CD8-single positive and CD4-CD8-double negative (DN) cells in splenocytes, were both used to indicate cellular immunity. Relative weights of spleen, thymus and bursa and white blood cell (WBC) counts wer...