Recombinant vaccinia virus expressing MIC8, AMA1, or RON4 induce protection against Toxoplasma gondii ME49 strain infection.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection is a globally prevalent and potentially severe disease, particularly in infants and immunocompromised individuals. Despite its widespread impact, no licensed vaccine is currently available for human use.

Efficacy of Heterologous Vaccination Using Virus-Like Particles and Vaccinia Virus Containing MIC8 and AMA1 Proteins of .

() infection causes serious diseases in immunocompromised patients and causes congenital toxoplasmosis in infants. microneme protein 8 (MIC8) and apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) are essential proteins involved in parasitic invasion. In this study, we generated virus-like particles (VLPs) and recombinant vaccinia virus (rVV) containing MIC8 or AMA1 proteins.

Protective Efficacy Induced by Virus-like Particles Expressing Dense Granule Protein 5 of .

() causes severe disease in immunocompromised individuals and pregnant women, underscoring the urgent need for effective vaccines against toxoplasmosis. The dense granule protein 5 (GRA5) of plays a key role in parasitic cyst formation. This study evaluated the protective immune responses induced by a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine expressing the -derived antigen GRA5 in a mouse model challenged with the ME49 strain of .

Ivermectin Identified Using a High-Throughput Screening System Exhibits Anti- Activity in Rats.

Clonorchiasis, caused by the parasite , remains a public health concern in East Asian countries. In this study, high-throughput screening was used to analyze 320 compounds for potential inhibitory activity against . To ensure the selection of high-confidence hits, a stringent inhibition threshold of 80% was applied, leading to the identification of three active compounds: moxifloxacin, hexachlorophene, and ivermectin (IVM).

Detection of Fusarium solani using cutinase antibody and its application in diagnosing fungal keratitis in an animal model.

Fungal keratitis (FK) is a sight-threatening infectious disease that can result in blindness if not appropriately treated. Although keratitis associated with filamentous fungi was rarely reported in the past, the incidence of fungal keratitis due to contact lens usage has increased. The clinical manifestations of fungal keratitis often resemble those of other corneal infections, potentially delaying accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Influenza virus-like particles presenting dense granule protein 7 protect mice from lethal ME49 challenge.

Aim: dense granule antigen 7 (GRA7) is a membrane-associated protein expressed across parasite life cycle and represents a promising vaccine target. This study aimed to develop a GRA7-based virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine and assess its protective efficacy.

Materials & Methods: GRA7 VLPs were constructed using an influenza M1 scaffold via the baculovirus expression system.

Evaluation of the potential for diagnosis of fungal keratitis using a Fusarium-specific antibody.

The increasing number of contact lens users correlates with a rise in the incidence of fungal keratitis. Fungal keratitis can lead to blindness if not treated promptly, and its early symptoms are similar to those of bacterial and amoebic keratitis, making rapid diagnosis challenging. This study aimed to assess the potential of using a peptide antibody against the fungal-specific protein ERG24, which encodes sterol C-14 reductase, to differentiate fungal keratitis from other forms of keratitis.

Orally Dissolving Film-Based Influenza Vaccines Confer Superior Protection Compared to the Oral Administration of Inactivated Influenza Virus.

: Self-administered orally dissolving films (ODFs) encapsulating inactivated influenza vaccines represent an effective strategy for stimulating mucosal immunity. While this vaccination method offers several advantages over conventional influenza vaccines, a comparative efficacy study remains lacking. : Female BALB/c mice were immunized with inactivated A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) either via orogastric inoculation or through the oral mucosal delivery using pullulan and trehalose-based ODF vaccines.

Applications of virus-like particles in the prevention of protozoan parasite infection.

Vaccination is widely regarded as the most effective control measure for disease prevention, as demonstrated by its success against numerous infectious diseases. However, the development of vaccines to prevent parasitic diseases in humans remains a significant challenge. Despite decades of effort, malaria continues to remain as the leading cause of death among parasitic diseases in tropical regions, while chronic infections caused by spp.

Influenza A hemagglutinin virus-like particles confer protection against influenza B virus infection.

Influenza A hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase, and/or M2e-containing virus-like particles (VLPs) induce immune responses that contribute to protection against multiple influenza A virus subtypes. In this study, we investigated the protective efficacy of influenza A/H1H3 VLPs against influenza B virus infections (B/Colorado/06/2017 and B/Malaysia/2506/2004, Victoria lineage) in mice. A/H1H3 VLP immunization elicited protection against lethal challenge infections with both B/Colorado and B/Malaysia, significantly reducing lung viral loads and ensuring 100% survival of immunized mice.

In silico comparative analysis of genetic diversity and natural selection of Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium vivax etramp11.2 gene.

A comprehensive analysis of genetic diversity in field samples is essential for developing an effective strain-transcending malaria vaccine and antigens capable of producing cross-protective immunity can be crucial in combatting malaria. We explored the genetic diversity, natural selection, epitope prediction, and haplotype network analysis of etramp11.2, a potential antigen recently shown to exhibit cross-species reactivity in clinical samples of Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium vivax.

Protection induced by recombinant vaccinia virus targeting the ROP4 of Toxoplasma gondii in mice.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease affecting a significant portion of the global population, whose etiology can be attributed to the protozoan organism Toxoplasma gondii. Despite its public health importance, an efficacious vaccine to prevent human toxoplasmosis remains unavailable. To this end, we designed an experimental toxoplasmosis vaccine using recombinant vaccinia virus vectors (rVacv) expressing the T.

Combinatorial Treatment with Praziquantel and Curcumin Reduces Parasite Burden and Clonorchiasis-Associated Pathologies in Rats.

: Clonorchiasis is a foodborne parasitic disease that can lead to severe biliary fibrosis and cholangiocarcinoma. While praziquantel (PZQ) is available for clonorchiasis treatment, it cannot revert the histopathological damage incurred through parasite-induced fibrosis. Curcumin (CUR) is an emerging experimental drug possessing anti-inflammatory and fibrosis-alleviating effects, thus signifying its potential as an anthelmintic drug.

Risk factors for Clonorchis sinensis infections and control measures reinforced with focused interviews.

Clonorchiosis, a disease that develops following the consumption of raw freshwater fish that harbors Clonorchis sinensis metacercariae, seriously threatens the health of residents in endemic areas. We aimed to assess the level of awareness of liver fluke infections among infected residents and restaurant workers in liver fluke infection-endemic areas. To identify and provide a more realistic description of C.

Protective humoral immunity induced by virus-like particles expressing Toxoplasma gondii CST1 or MIC8.

Protective efficacy assessment of toxoplasmosis vaccines, at least at the preclinical level, frequently involves lethal dose challenge infection. Nonetheless, their efficacies remain largely unexplored against low infection doses which better reflects how humans become infected in the real world. In this study, we compared the immunity elicited in mice that were heterologously immunized with recombinant baculovirus and virus-like particles expressing either the cyst wall protein (CST1) or microneme protein 8 (MIC8) of Toxoplasma gondii (T.

Allyl isothiocyanate exacerbates acute toxoplasmosis through inhibition of inflammatory cytokines.

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is a natural product commonly used in food preservation and pharmaceutical applications. Toxoplasmosis, caused by the protozoan pathogen Toxoplasma gondii, is prevalent globally while the impact of AITC on toxoplasmosis is unclear. We explored the effect of AITC on acute toxoplasmosis.

Identification of essential genes for Acanthamoeba castellanii excystation during encystation and excystation.

Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic pathogen that causes Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, and other cutaneous diseases. The life cycle of Acanthamoeba consists of 2 stages of trophozoites and cysts. Under adverse environmental conditions, Acanthamoeba encysts, while the conditions become favorable for growth, it reverts to the trophozoite form.

Vaccine efficacy induced by 2020-2021 seasonal influenza-derived H3N1 virus-like particles co-expressing M2e5x or N2.

Influenza A matrix protein 2 (M2e) and neuraminidase (NA) antigens are known to play important roles in mounting a broad range of protection. Nonetheless, the protective efficacy of the VLP vaccines co-expressing both M2e and NA antigens has not been explored. In this study, we generated 2020/2021 seasonal influenza H3N1 VLPs that co-expressed either M2e5x (H3N1M2e5x) or N2 (H3N1N2 VLP) antigens.

Dose sparing enabled by immunization with influenza vaccine using orally dissolving film.

Influenza vaccine delivered by orally dissolving film vaccine (ODFV) is a promising approach. In this study, we generated three ODFVs each comprising pulluan and trehalose with different doses of inactivated A/Puerto Rico/8/34, H1N1 virus (ODFV I, II, III) to evaluate their dose-sparing effect in mice. The ODFVs were placed on the tongues of mice to elicit immunization and after 3 immunizations at 4-week intervals, mice were challenged with a lethal dose of A/PR/8/34 to assess vaccine-induced protection.

CpG-Adjuvanted Virus-like Particle Vaccine Induces Protective Immunity Against Leishmania donovani Infection.

Visceral leishmaniasis poses a significant public health challenge due to the lack of an approved human vaccine. We attempted to enhance the efficacy of virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines expressing the Leishmania donovani promastigote surface antigen (LdPSA) by adjuvanting with CpG oligodeoxynucleotide. Here, we evaluated adjuvanted vaccine-induced immune responses and their efficacies in mice challenged with mCherry-expressing L donovani promastigotes.

Heterologous immunization targeting the CST1 antigen confers better protection than ROP18 in mice.

To evaluate the protective efficacy induced by heterologous immunization with recombinant baculoviruses or virus-like particles targeting the CST1 and ROP18 antigens of .: Recombinant baculovirus and virus-like particle vaccines expressing CST1 or ROP18 antigens were developed to evaluate protective immunity in mice upon challenge infection with 450 (ME49). Immunization with CST1 or ROP18 vaccines induced similar levels of -specific IgG and IgA responses.

Orally dissolving film as a potential vaccine delivery carrier to prevent influenza virus infection.

Orally dissolving films (ODF) are designed to be dissolved on the tongue and absorbed in the mouth. It offers multiple advantages over the commonly used needle-based vaccines, especially in terms of convenience allowing safe, painless, and easy self-administration. As the efficacy of ODF-encapsulated influenza vaccines has not been demonstrated, we assessed the protection elicited by inactivated influenza virus (A/PR/8/34, H1N1) vaccine delivered using ODFs in mice.

Efficacy assessment of miltefosine and curcumin against infection.

Praziquantel (PZQ) is currently the only approved drug for treating clonorchiasis, but its poor efficacy against larvae has highlighted the need to develop newer drugs. In this study, to address this challenge, we investigated the anti-parasitic efficacy of miltefosine (MLT), curcumin (CUR), and PZQ against metacercariae (CsMC), newly excysted juvenile worms (CsNEJs), and adults. Larvicidal effects of MLT and CUR surpassed those elicited by PZQ .

Immunizing Mice with Influenza Virus-like Particles Expressing the Promastigote Surface Antigen Alleviates Inflammation in Footpad.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a tropical disease endemic in many parts of the world. Characteristic clinical manifestations of CL include the formation of ulcerative skin lesions that can inflict life-long disability if left untreated. Although drugs are available, they are unaffordable and out of reach for individuals who need them the most.

Vaccine efficacy induced by virus-like particles containing Leishmania donovani surface glycoprotein GP63.

Leishmania donovani surface glycoprotein 63 (GP63) is a major virulence factor involved in parasite escape and immune evasion. In this study, we generated virus-like particles (VLPs) expressing L. donovani GP63 using the baculovirus expression system.