Vaccine Delivery

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2015) | Viewed by 82673

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Interests: cancer; autoimmunity; mental health; vaccines; exercise
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over 1,000 years ago in China, contents of smallpox vesicles were injected into people who had not previously experienced smallpox. Fatalities were uncommon in the individuals inoculated with the smallpox vesicles, compared with victims of natural smallpox infection. More than 700 years later, Edward Jenner injected an 8 year old boy with cowpox and challenged him with smallpox, the boy was subsequently protected against smallpox. Hence the term “cross reactivity” was coined. Two hundred year later, smallpox vaccination became increasingly popular in the decade 1967-1977 and complete world-wide eradication was accomplished. Numerous methods of vaccination have been used, such as, attenuated bacteria, live virus’s, dead organisms and despite their success, a number of disasters in humans have resulted. Disasters were primarily due to improper lab manufacturing and handling and consequently these incidences led to improved procedures and the safety of vaccines, and led to regulatory measures to assure proper laboratory conditions. With attempts to control more complex diseases and the need to improve vaccine safety, stability, efficacy and cost, there is pressure for precisely defined vaccines.

Public awareness of health and safety issues vaccines must now meet higher standards of safety and biochemical characterization than they did in the past. Some of the vaccines developed in the past would not even meet the minimum standards required today. Hence, new improved precisely defined highly purified vaccines need to be developed. Advances in the fields of peptide synthesis, molecular biology, protein production, immunology, animal models etc are required for the development of new and improved vaccines, in an attempt to move from traditional live virus vaccines to the theoretical safer but ‘less immunogenic’ vaccines. In an attempt to improve the immunogenicity of the highly purified vaccines, a number of technologies and delivery methods have been utilized. This special issue will present, delivery methods used to improve immunogenicity of vaccines, and their in vitro and in vivo biological activities with the aim to go into human clinical trials.

Prof. Dr. Vasso Apostolopoulos
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

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483 KiB  
Editorial
Vaccine Delivery Methods into the Future
by Vasso Apostolopoulos
Vaccines 2016, 4(2), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines4020009 - 28 Mar 2016
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 9364
Abstract
Several modes of vaccine delivery have been developed in the last 25 years, which induce strong immune responses in pre-clinical models and in human clinical trials. Some modes of delivery include, adjuvants (aluminum hydroxide, Ribi formulation, QS21), liposomes, nanoparticles, virus like particles, immunostimulatory [...] Read more.
Several modes of vaccine delivery have been developed in the last 25 years, which induce strong immune responses in pre-clinical models and in human clinical trials. Some modes of delivery include, adjuvants (aluminum hydroxide, Ribi formulation, QS21), liposomes, nanoparticles, virus like particles, immunostimulatory complexes (ISCOMs), dendrimers, viral vectors, DNA delivery via gene gun, electroporation or Biojector 2000, cell penetrating peptides, dendritic cell receptor targeting, toll-like receptors, chemokine receptors and bacterial toxins. There is an enormous amount of information and vaccine delivery methods available for guiding vaccine and immunotherapeutics development against diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Delivery)
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Research

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443 KiB  
Article
A Nanoparticle Based Sp17 Peptide Vaccine Exposes New Immuno-Dominant and Species Cross-reactive B Cell Epitopes
by Sue D. Xiang, Qian Gao, Kirsty L. Wilson, Arne Heyerick and Magdalena Plebanski
Vaccines 2015, 3(4), 875-893; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines3040875 - 29 Oct 2015
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5421
Abstract
Sperm protein antigen 17 (Sp17), expressed in primary as well as in metastatic lesions in >83% of patients with ovarian cancer, is a promising ovarian cancer vaccine candidate. Herein we describe the formulation of nanoparticle based vaccines based on human Sp17 (hSp17) sequence [...] Read more.
Sperm protein antigen 17 (Sp17), expressed in primary as well as in metastatic lesions in >83% of patients with ovarian cancer, is a promising ovarian cancer vaccine candidate. Herein we describe the formulation of nanoparticle based vaccines based on human Sp17 (hSp17) sequence derived peptides, and map the immuno-dominant T cell and antibody epitopes induced using such formulations. The primary T and B cell immuno-dominant region within Sp17 was found to be the same when using biocompatible nanoparticle carriers or the conventional “mix-in” pro-inflammatory adjuvant CpG, both mapping to amino acids (aa) 111–142. However, delivery of hSp17111–142 as a nanoparticle conjugate promoted a number of new properties, changing the dominant antibody isotype induced from IgG2a to IgG1 and the fine specificity of the B cell epitopes within hSp17111–142, from an immuno-dominant region 134–142 aa for CpG, to region 121–138 aa for nanoparticles. Associated with this change in specificity was a substantial increase in antibody cross-reactivity between mouse and human Sp17. These results indicate conjugation of antigen to nanoparticles can have major effects on fine antigen specificity, which surprisingly could be beneficially used to increase the cross-reactivity of antibody responses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Delivery)
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1429 KiB  
Article
Small Wonders—The Use of Nanoparticles for Delivering Antigen
by Aya Taki and Peter Smooker
Vaccines 2015, 3(3), 638-661; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines3030638 - 10 Aug 2015
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 6862
Abstract
Despite the discovery of many potential antigens for subunit vaccines, universal protection is often lacking due to the limitations of conventional delivery methods. Subunit vaccines primarily induce antibody-mediated humoral responses, whereas potent antigen-specific cellular responses are required for prevention against some pathogenic infections. [...] Read more.
Despite the discovery of many potential antigens for subunit vaccines, universal protection is often lacking due to the limitations of conventional delivery methods. Subunit vaccines primarily induce antibody-mediated humoral responses, whereas potent antigen-specific cellular responses are required for prevention against some pathogenic infections. Nanoparticles have been utilised in nanomedicine and are promising candidates for vaccine or drug delivery. Nanoparticle vehicles have been demonstrated to be efficiently taken up by dendritic cells and induce humoral and cellular responses. This review provides an overview of nanoparticle vaccine development; in particular, the preparation of nanoparticles using a templating technique is highlighted, which would alleviate some of the disadvantages of existing nanoparticles. We will also explore the cellular fate of nanoparticle vaccines. Nanoparticle-based antigen delivery systems have the potential to develop new generation vaccines against currently unpreventable infectious diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Delivery)
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Review

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28131 KiB  
Review
Live-Attenuated Bacterial Vectors: Tools for Vaccine and Therapeutic Agent Delivery
by Ivan Y. C. Lin, Thi Thu Hao Van and Peter M. Smooker
Vaccines 2015, 3(4), 940-972; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines3040940 - 10 Nov 2015
Cited by 86 | Viewed by 28976
Abstract
Genetically attenuated microorganisms, including pathogenic and commensal bacteria, can be engineered to carry and deliver heterologous antigens to elicit host immunity against both the vector as well as the pathogen from which the donor gene is derived. These live attenuated bacterial vectors have [...] Read more.
Genetically attenuated microorganisms, including pathogenic and commensal bacteria, can be engineered to carry and deliver heterologous antigens to elicit host immunity against both the vector as well as the pathogen from which the donor gene is derived. These live attenuated bacterial vectors have been given much attention due to their capacity to induce a broad range of immune responses including localized mucosal, as well as systemic humoral and/or cell-mediated immunity. In addition, the unique tumor-homing characteristics of these bacterial vectors has also been exploited for alternative anti-tumor vaccines and therapies. In such approach, tumor-associated antigen, immunostimulatory molecules, anti-tumor drugs, or nucleotides (DNA or RNA) are delivered. Different potential vectors are appropriate for specific applications, depending on their pathogenic routes. In this review, we survey and summarize the main features of the different types of live bacterial vectors and discussed the clinical applications in the field of vaccinology. In addition, different approaches for using live attenuated bacterial vectors for anti-cancer therapy is discussed, and some promising pre-clinical and clinical studies in this field are outlined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Delivery)
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860 KiB  
Review
The Use of Synthetic Carriers in Malaria Vaccine Design
by Liam Powles, Sue D. Xiang, Cordelia Selomulya and Magdalena Plebanski
Vaccines 2015, 3(4), 894-929; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines3040894 - 29 Oct 2015
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 10176
Abstract
Malaria vaccine research has been ongoing since the 1980s with limited success. However, recent improvements in our understanding of the immune responses required to combat each stage of infection will allow for intelligent design of both antigens and their associated delivery vaccine vehicles/vectors. [...] Read more.
Malaria vaccine research has been ongoing since the 1980s with limited success. However, recent improvements in our understanding of the immune responses required to combat each stage of infection will allow for intelligent design of both antigens and their associated delivery vaccine vehicles/vectors. Synthetic carriers (also known as vectors) are usually particulate and have multiple properties, which can be varied to control how an associated vaccine interacts with the host, and consequently how the immune response develops. This review comprehensively analyzes both historical and recent studies in which synthetic carriers are used to deliver malaria vaccines. Furthermore, the requirements for a synthetic carrier, such as size, charge, and surface chemistry are reviewed in order to understand the design of effective particle-based vaccines against malaria, as well as providing general insights. Synthetic carriers have the ability to alter and direct the immune response, and a better control of particle properties will facilitate improved vaccine design in the near future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Delivery)
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129 KiB  
Review
Cholera Toxin Subunit B as Adjuvant––An Accelerator in Protective Immunity and a Break in Autoimmunity
by Thomas Stratmann
Vaccines 2015, 3(3), 579-596; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines3030579 - 24 Jul 2015
Cited by 132 | Viewed by 9154
Abstract
Cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) is the nontoxic portion of cholera toxin. Its affinity to the monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) that is broadly distributed in a variety of cell types including epithelial cells of the gut and antigen presenting cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, and B [...] Read more.
Cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) is the nontoxic portion of cholera toxin. Its affinity to the monosialotetrahexosylganglioside (GM1) that is broadly distributed in a variety of cell types including epithelial cells of the gut and antigen presenting cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, and B cells, allows its optimal access to the immune system. CTB can easily be expressed on its own in a variety of organisms, and several approaches can be used to couple it to antigens, either by genetic fusion or by chemical manipulation, leading to strongly enhanced immune responses to the antigens. In autoimmune diseases, CTB has the capacity to evoke regulatory responses and to thereby dampen autoimmune responses, in several but not all animal models. It remains to be seen whether the latter approach translates to success in the clinic, however, the versatility of CTB to manipulate immune responses in either direction makes this protein a promising adjuvant for vaccine development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Delivery)
412 KiB  
Review
Gavi HPV Programs: Application to Implementation
by Celina M. Hanson, Linda Eckert, Paul Bloem and Tania Cernuschi
Vaccines 2015, 3(2), 408-419; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines3020408 - 20 May 2015
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 11457
Abstract
Developing countries disproportionately suffer from the burden of cervical cancer yet lack the resources to establish systematic screening programs that have resulted in significant reductions in morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination provides an opportunity for primary prevention of [...] Read more.
Developing countries disproportionately suffer from the burden of cervical cancer yet lack the resources to establish systematic screening programs that have resulted in significant reductions in morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination provides an opportunity for primary prevention of cervical cancer in low-resource settings through vaccine provision by Gavi The Vaccine Alliance. In addition to the traditional national introduction, countries can apply for a demonstration program to help them make informed decisions for subsequent national introduction. This article summarizes information from approved Gavi HPV demonstration program proposals and preliminary implementation findings. After two rounds of applications, 23 countries have been approved targeting approximately 400,000 girls for vaccination. All countries are proposing primarily school-based strategies with mixed strategies to locate and vaccinate girls not enrolled in school. Experiences to date include: Reaching marginalized girls has been challenging; Strong coordination with the education sector is key and overall acceptance has been high. Initial coverage reports are encouraging but will have to be confirmed in population based coverage surveys that will take place later this year. Experiences from these countries are consistent with existing literature describing other HPV vaccine pilots in low-income settings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Delivery)
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