GMMA-based vaccine candidates against invasive nontyphoidal salmonellosis elicit bactericidal antibodies against a panel of epidemiologically relevant .

Systemic disease caused by nontyphoidal (NTS) represents a major cause of death and morbidity, especially in young children in sub-Saharan Africa. No licensed vaccine is yet available, and an increase in antimicrobial resistance makes the development of a vaccine a global health priority. We are developing a bivalent formulation of Typhimurium and Enteritidis generalized modules for membrane antigens (GMMA)-based vaccine (iNTS-GMMA) and a trivalent formulation (iNTS-TCV) in which iNTS-GMMA is combined with the WHO-prequalified TYPHIBEV (Biological E, India) vaccine to prevent typhoid fever in addition to invasive NTS (iNTS) disease.

A next-generation GMMA-based vaccine candidate to fight shigellosis.

Shigellosis is a leading cause of diarrheal disease in low-middle-income countries (LMICs). Effective vaccines will help to reduce the disease burden, exacerbated by increasing antibiotic resistance, in the most susceptible population represented by young children. A challenge for a broadly protective vaccine against shigellosis is to cover the most epidemiologically relevant serotypes among >50 Shigella serotypes circulating worldwide.

Rationalizing the design of a broad coverage Shigella vaccine based on evaluation of immunological cross-reactivity among S. flexneri serotypes.

No vaccine to protect against an estimated 238,000 shigellosis deaths per year is widely available. S. sonnei is the most prevalent Shigella, and multiple serotypes of S.

Frontiers in the Standardization of the Plant Platform for High Scale Production of Vaccines.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the value of technologies that allow a fast setup and production of biopharmaceuticals in emergency situations. The plant factory system can provide a fast response to epidemics/pandemics. Thanks to their scalability and genome plasticity, plants represent advantageous platforms to produce vaccines.

Outer membrane vesicles: moving within the intricate labyrinth of assays that can predict risks of reactogenicity in humans.

Outer membrane vesicles (OMV) are exosomes naturally released from the surface of Gram-negative bacteria. Since the '80s, OMVs have been proposed as powerful vaccine platforms due to their intrinsic self-adjuvanticity and ability to present multiple antigens in natural conformation. However, the presence of several pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), especially lipid A, has raised concerns about potential systemic reactogenicity in humans.

Draft genomes of Shigella strains used by the STOPENTERICS consortium.

Background: Despite a significant global burden of disease, there is still no vaccine against shigellosis widely available. One aim of the European Union funded STOPENTERICS consortium is to develop vaccine candidates against Shigella. Given the importance of translational vaccine coverage, here we aimed to characterise the Shigella strains being used by the consortium by whole genome sequencing, and report on the stability of strains cultured in different laboratories or through serial passage.

An O antigen capsule modulates bacterial pathogenesis in Shigella sonnei.

Shigella is the leading cause for dysentery worldwide. Together with several virulence factors employed for invasion, the presence and length of the O antigen (OAg) of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plays a key role in pathogenesis. S.

Modulation of endotoxicity of Shigella generalized modules for membrane antigens (GMMA) by genetic lipid A modifications: relative activation of TLR4 and TLR2 pathways in different mutants.

Outer membrane particles from Gram-negative bacteria are attractive vaccine candidates as they present surface antigens in their natural context. We previously developed a high yield production process for genetically derived particles, called generalized modules for membrane antigens (GMMA), from Shigella. As GMMA are derived from the outer membrane, they contain immunostimulatory components, especially lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Distinct roles of Candida albicans-specific genes in host-pathogen interactions.

Human fungal pathogens are distributed throughout their kingdom, suggesting that pathogenic potential evolved independently. Candida albicans is the most virulent member of the CUG clade of yeasts and a common cause of both superficial and invasive infections. We therefore hypothesized that C.

Global transcriptome sequencing identifies chlamydospore specific markers in Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis.

Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis are pathogenic fungi that are highly related but differ in virulence and in some phenotypic traits. During in vitro growth on certain nutrient-poor media, C. albicans and C.

Candida albicans scavenges host zinc via Pra1 during endothelial invasion.

The ability of pathogenic microorganisms to assimilate essential nutrients from their hosts is critical for pathogenesis. Here we report endothelial zinc sequestration by the major human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. We hypothesised that, analogous to siderophore-mediated iron acquisition, C.

Candida albicans-epithelial interactions: dissecting the roles of active penetration, induced endocytosis and host factors on the infection process.

Candida albicans frequently causes superficial infections by invading and damaging epithelial cells, but may also cause systemic infections by penetrating through epithelial barriers. C. albicans is a remarkable pathogen because it can invade epithelial cells via two distinct mechanisms: induced endocytosis, analogous to facultative intracellular enteropathogenic bacteria, and active penetration, similar to plant pathogenic fungi.

Comparative genomics of the fungal pathogens Candida dubliniensis and Candida albicans.

Candida dubliniensis is the closest known relative of Candida albicans, the most pathogenic yeast species in humans. However, despite both species sharing many phenotypic characteristics, including the ability to form true hyphae, C. dubliniensis is a significantly less virulent and less versatile pathogen.

Purification and germination of Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis chlamydospores cultured in liquid media.

Candida albicans and Candida dubliniensis are the only Candida sp. that have been observed to produce chlamydospores. The function of these large, thick-walled cells is currently unknown.