scholarly journals Recent Advances in the Development of Protein- and Peptide-Based Subunit Vaccines against Tuberculosis

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 2673
Author(s):  
Chiara Bellini ◽  
Kata Horváti

The World Health Organization (WHO) herald of the “End TB Strategy” has defined goals and targets for tuberculosis prevention, care, and control to end the global tuberculosis endemic. The emergence of drug resistance and the relative dreadful consequences in treatment outcome has led to increased awareness on immunization against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). However, the proven limited efficacy of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), the only licensed vaccine against Mtb, has highlighted the need for alternative vaccines. In this review, we seek to give an overview of Mtb infection and failure of BCG to control it. Afterward, we focus on the protein- and peptide-based subunit vaccine subtype, examining the advantages and drawbacks of using this design approach. Finally, we explore the features of subunit vaccine candidates currently in pre-clinical and clinical evaluation, including the antigen repertoire, the exploited adjuvanted delivery systems, as well as the spawned immune response.

Coronaviruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bikash Debnath ◽  
Waikhom Somraj Singh ◽  
Kuntal Manna

: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first outbreak in Wuhan, China, and the infection is intense worldwide. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for COVID-19. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed total deaths had noted 4.20% globally (March 21, 2020). Between the intervals of four months (July 21, 2020), confirmed total deaths had recorded 4.17%, globally. In India, 909 confirmed cases and 19 deaths were reported by Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, March 28, 2020. Between the intervals of 123 days In India, 1638870 confirmed cases and 35684 deaths. COVID-19 can potentially spread from person to person through direct contact or respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing. The most common symptoms are fever, dry cough, difficulty in breathing, and fatigue. A pregnant mother with COVID-19 has fewer chances to transfer this infection of her newborn babies. Children have less affected than an adult. A specific antiviral drug or vaccine has not been developed to cure the disease. Chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir, ritonavir, nafamostat, nitazoxanide, and remdesivir have effective drugs to treat COVID-19. Many vaccine candidates are under pre-clinical and clinical studies. In this review, we highlight the epidemiology, sign-symptoms, pathogenesis, mode of transmission, and effects of a pregnant mother with newborns, children, prevention, and drugs affective to COVID-19.


Author(s):  
Roger Magnusson

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes, are responsible for around 70 percent of global deaths each year. This chapter describes how NCDs have become prevalent and critically evaluates global efforts to address NCDs and their risk factors, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) system. It explores the factors that have prevented those addressing NCDs from achieving access to resources and a priority commensurate with their impact on people’s lives. The chapter evaluates the global response to NCDs both prior to and since the UN High-Level Meeting on Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases, held in 2011, and considers opportunities for strengthening that response in future.


Author(s):  
Anupama M. Gudadappanavar ◽  
Jyoti Benni

AbstractA novel coronavirus infection coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged from Wuhan, Hubei Province of China, in December 2019 caused by SARS-CoV-2 is believed to be originated from bats in the local wet markets. Later, animal to human and human-to-human transmission of the virus began and resulting in widespread respiratory illness worldwide to around more than 180 countries. The World Health Organization declared this disease as a pandemic in March 2020. There is no clinically approved antiviral drug or vaccine available to be used against COVID-19. Nevertheless, few broad-spectrum antiviral drugs have been studied against COVID-19 in clinical trials with clinical recovery. In the current review, we summarize the morphology and pathogenesis of COVID-19 infection. A strong rational groundwork was made keeping the focus on current development of therapeutic agents and vaccines for SARS-CoV-2. Among the proposed therapeutic regimen, hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, remdisevir, azithromycin, toclizumab and cromostat mesylate have shown promising results, and limited benefit was seen with lopinavir–ritonavir treatment in hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19. Early development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine started based on the full-length genome analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. Several subunit vaccines, peptides, nucleic acids, plant-derived, recombinant vaccines are under pipeline. This article concludes and highlights ongoing advances in drug repurposing, therapeutics and vaccines to counter COVID-19, which collectively could enable efforts to halt the pandemic virus infection.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Pitchika ◽  
C Kokel ◽  
J Andreeva ◽  
A Crispin ◽  
R Hickel ◽  
...  

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a new fluoride varnish (Clinpro White Varnish, 3M Espe, Seefeld, Germany) with regard to the caries incidence within a 2-year period. Study design: A non-randomized sample of 400 children from the Kyffhäuser district (Thuringia, Germany) was divided into a fluoride group (FG, biannual application of fluoride varnish) and control group (CG, no intervention). (Non-)cavitated caries lesions were recorded using World Health Organization (WHO) and Universal Visual Scoring System (UniViSS) criteria. Parents were given questionnaires to gather information about their socio-economic status (SES). Non-parametric methods and binomial logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results: There was a significant increase in caries incidence in both groups. The number of non-cavitated carious lesions was significantly lower in the FG (mean 2.2; sd 2.3) compared with the CG (mean 2.9; sd 1.9). Initial statistical analysis revealed that fluoride varnish might prevent non-cavitated carious lesions. When including SES as a confounder into regression model, potential preventive effect was lost. Conclusions: This study underlines the importance of the multi-factorial etiology of caries and illustrates that the effectiveness of biannual fluoride varnish application was evident in non-cavitated carious lesions only.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 4028
Author(s):  
Theodosia Adom ◽  
Anniza De Villiers ◽  
Thandi Puoane ◽  
André Pascal Kengne

To address the issue of obesity, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a set of comprehensive programmes aimed at changing the obesogenic environments to provide opportunities for healthy food options and increased physical activity in the school, home, and at the population level. The objectives of this study were to examine the nature and range of policies related to overweight and obesity prevention in Africa, and to assess how they align with international guidelines. An existing methodological framework was adapted for this scoping review. A search of publicly available national documents on overweight/obesity, general health, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was undertaken from relevant websites, including WHO, ministries, and Google Scholar. Additional requests were sent to key contacts at relevant ministries about existing policy documents. The documents were reviewed, and the policies were categorised, using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework. The framework categorises the environmental drivers of obesity into four domains (physical, economic, legislative, and socio-cultural) and two scales: macro (national, regional, sectors, food industries, media, etc.) and micro (household, institutional, and community). This review included documents from 41 African countries. The policy initiatives to prevent overweight/obesity target the school, family and community settings, and macro environments, and broadly align with global recommendations. The NCD documents were in the majority, with only two on obesity. The majority of the documents detailed strategies and key interventions on unhealthy diets and physical inactivity. The physical, legislative, and sociocultural domains were largely featured, with less emphasis on the economic domain. Additionally, nutrition- and diet-related policies were in the majority. Overlaps and interactions of policies were observed in the application of the ANGELO framework. This study has provided information on national policies and programmes in Africa and can be useful as a first point of call for policymakers. The overlapping and interaction in the initiatives demonstrate the importance of multi-sectoral partnerships in providing supportive environments for healthy behaviours.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 941-953
Author(s):  
Dyan Kunthi Nugrahaeni ◽  
Novie Elvinawaty Mauliku ◽  
Budiman Budiman ◽  
Gunawan Irianto ◽  
Arina Novilla

ABSTRAK The World Health Organization menetapkan outbreak SARS-CoV-2 sebagai Kedaruratan Kesehatan Masyarakat yang Meresahkan Dunia dan dinyatakan sebagai pandemik. Penyebaran dan penularan penyakit Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) sangat tinggi, dengan jumlah penderita lebih dari 117 juta di seluruh dunia. Diperlukan berbagai strategi dan tindakan yang dapat dilakukan untuk pencegahan, penanggulangan dalam rangka mengatasi COVID-19. Tujuan Pengabdian masyarakat yang dilakukan oleh Stikes Achmad Yani adalah ikut berperan serta dalam pencegahan dan penanggulangan COVID-19 di wilayah Kota Cimahi dan Kota Bandung. Metode yang digunakan adalah partisipatori dalam berbagai aktifias pencegahan dan penanggulangan COVID-19. Kegiatan Pengabdian Masyarakat yang dilakukan selama pandemic COVID-19 diantaranya adalah demontrasi pembuatan handsanitizer, penyemprotan disinfektan, mengirimkan tim relawan pemeriksaan Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) antibodi Cluster Lembang dan relawan Check Point pada kegiatan Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar di Kota Bandung. Pemberian donasi kepada masyarakat terdampak pandemik COVID-19 dan donasi Alat Pelindung Diri (APD) ke fasilitas pelayanan kesehatan seperti Rumah Sakit dan Puskesmas. Pelaksanaan Rapid Test Diagnostic (RTD) antibodi dan RTD antigen bagi mahasiswa, dosen dan Karyawan. Stikes Achmad Yani juga berperan serta dalam gebyar Vaksin COVID-19 bagi tenaga kesehatan dan mengirimkan relawan sebagai vaksinator yang diselenggarakan oleh Rumah Sakit Hasan Sadikin berkerjasama dengan PPNI. Partisipasi Stikes Achmad Yani Cimahi dalam berbagai kegiatan yang terkait dengan COVID-19 diharapkan dapat memberikan kontribusi dalam rangka pencegahan penularan, pengendalian dan penanggulangan COVID-19. Kata Kunci: COVID-19, disinfeksi, relawan, Rapid Diagnostic Test  ABSTRACT The World Health Organization recognize the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak as a public health emergency of Internasional Concerns and declared it as a pandemic. The spread and transmission of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) are very high and reported that over 117 million people have been sufferers worldwide. Several strategies and actions can be carried out to prevention, controlling and overcoming COVID-19. The purpose of community service carried out by Stikes Achmad Yani is to participate in the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Cimahi and Bandung district. The methode used in community services are participatory methods in several activities for prevention and control of COVID-19. Community Service activities carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic included demonstrations of making hand sanitizers, spraying disinfectants, sending a team of volunteers to examine the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) antibody for the Lembang Cluster, and volunteer Check Points at Large-Scale Social Restrictions activities in Bandung. Providing donations to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and donations of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to health service facilities such as hospitals and health centers. Implementation of Rapid Diagnostic Test (RTD) antibody and RDT antigen for students, lecturers, and staff. Stikes Achmad Yani also participated in the COVID-19 Vaccine for health workers and sent volunteers as vaccinators organized by Hasan Sadikin Hospital in collaboration with PPNI. The participation of Stikes Achmad Yani Cimahi in various activities to contribute prevention of disease transmission and controlling COVID-19. Kata Kunci: COVID-19, disinfection, volunteer, Rapid Diagnostic Test


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua S. Woodworth ◽  
Helena Strand Clemmensen ◽  
Hannah Battey ◽  
Karin Dijkman ◽  
Thomas Lindenstrøm ◽  
...  

AbstractGiven the encouraging clinical results of both candidate subunit vaccines and revaccination with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) against tuberculosis (TB), there is support for combining BCG and subunit vaccination for increased efficacy. BCG and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) share ~98% of their genome and current subunit vaccines are almost exclusively designed as BCG boosters. The goal of this study is to design a TB subunit vaccine composed of antigens not shared with BCG and explore the advantages of this design in a BCG + subunit co-administration vaccine strategy. Eight protective antigens are selected to create an Mtb-specific subunit vaccine, named H107. Whereas traditional vaccines containing BCG-shared antigens exhibit in vivo cross-reactivity to BCG, H107 shows no cross-reactivity and does not inhibit BCG colonization. Instead, co-administering H107 with BCG leads to increased adaptive responses against both H107 and BCG. Importantly, rather than expanding BCG-primed T cells, H107 broadens the overall vaccine repertoire with new T cell clones and introduces ‘adjuvant-imprinted’ qualities including Th17 responses and less-differentiated Th1 cells. Collectively, these features of H107 are associated with a substantial increase in long-term protection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41
Author(s):  
Seyed Hesamaddin Banihashemi ◽  
Ahmadreza Karimi ◽  
Hasti Nikourazm ◽  
Behnaz Bahmanyar ◽  
Dariush Hooshyar

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus and its associated disease, called coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and quickly spread around the world. Coronavirus was officially named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization and was recognized as a pandemic due to its rapid spread worldwide. Based on the published data, it is hoped to provide a source for later studies and to help prevent and control the contagious COVID-19 and its characteristics, and considerations that surgeons and medical staff must observe during the epidemic.


Author(s):  
Charu Bansal ◽  
Rachna Jain ◽  
Umesh Shukla ◽  
Smita Paul

Diabesity term recently coined in medical field because of the very close epidemiological and pathogenic associations between central obesity and Type 2DM. Material and Methods: This review is based on data collected from published research works in various journals. Observations and Results: cited based on research reviews to find out risk odds of obesity and physical inactivity and initiation of type 2 diabetes with solutions based on improve physical activity. Conclusion: Counseling would be one of the best strategies to opt physical exercise with moderate and vigorous intensity recommended as world health organization as healthy behaviour to prevent and control of type 2 diabetes. Thus, Present write up is an effort to critically evaluate and assess the published research data on obesity and its association with development of type 2 diabetes and role of Physical exercises for prevention and control of type 2 DM as its solution with research evidences.


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