Vaccines & Immune Biology

Cecil Czerkinsky of the International Vaccine Institute in South Korea will test the efficacy of administering two approved vaccines sublingually - directly under the tongue. The team will attempt to produce not only antibody responses but also cytotoxic T cell responses in distant mucosal organs such as the lungs and reproductive tract. Sublingual vaccine administration could help improve vaccine delivery, compliance, and enhance immunity against a variety of pathogens.

Claudia Pastori of Fondazione S. Raffaele del Monte Tabor in Italy seeks to induce mucosal immunity against HIV by using a bacterial adhesive protein to target antigens to specific cells. The goal of this approach is to present conserved epitopes of HIV in their natural form to elicit the production of protective antibodies in the tissues where these antibodies will be effective.

Emmanuel Ho of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada will develop a polyether urethane (PU) intra-vaginal ring designed to slowly release the HIV peptide gp120, as well as the cytokine IL-12 as an adjuvant, directly into the vaginal mucosa to stimulate a sustained mucosal immune response.

Tanapat Palaga of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand seeks to create a novel DNA vaccine delivery system that targets dendritic cells in GI mucosal tissues. Using chitosan nanoparticles to encapsulate DNA plasmid and protect it from stomach acid, this potential vaccine construct will contain both an antigen and an autophagy- inducing gene to enhance the vaccine's efficacy.

Allison Ficht of Texas A&M Health Science Center in the U.S. will develop a new TB immunization delivery system based on the protein used by parasitic worms to seal their egg case. This "sticky coating" for nanoparticle vaccines could protect antigens during intranasal administration, affix them to the nasal mucosa and erode in a controlled way to slowly release antigens for enhanced immune response against tuberculosis.

Edward Dolk of Utrecht University in the Netherlands proposes using two-sided antibodies, which bind to HIV and to transport receptors in the epithelium. Binding these receptors will cause excretion of the HIV particles outside of the body, thereby reducing viral load.

Alexander Cole of the University of Central Florida will attempt to restore natural expression of retrocyclins, antiviral peptides whose production in humans has been latent for millions of years. Cole will test inexpensive and widely available antibiotics for their ability to induce production of these retrocyclins, leading to its possible use as a vaginal microbicide.

Madhu Malo of Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in the U.S. will investigate whether maintaining the normal intestinal commensal bacteria using oral supplementation of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP), a small intestinal brush-border enzyme, will prevent or cure infection by pathogenic bacteria. A successful project would generate a universal prophylactic and therapeutic strategy against diarrheal diseases.

David Schwartz of Hackensack University Medical Center in the U.S. will test an intradermal injection that increases levels of vitamin A and blocks vitamin D3 metabolism. These important mechanisms can "educate" B cells to home to the gut and to make mucosal antibodies against many viruses, including HIV.

Jennifer Maynard and Nicholas Peppas of the University of Texas at Austin in the U.S. seeks to engineer proteins to be delivered by oral polymeric vaccine that specifically bind to receptors of M cells on the gut mucosa. By targeting these M cells, antigens can be introduced directly to the mucosal system, inducing a targeted, stronger immune response.