Challenges in the research and development of new human vaccines

Abstract

The field of vaccinology was born from the observations by the fathers of vaccination, Edward Jenner and Louis Pasteur, that a permanent, positive change in the way our bodies respond to life-threatening infectious diseases can be obtained by specific challenge with the inactivated infectious agent performed in a controlled manner, avoiding the development of clinical disease upon exposure to the virulent pathogen. Many of the vaccines still in use today were developed on an empirical basis, essentially following the paradigm established by Pasteur, “isolate, inactivate, and inject” the disease-causing microorganism, and are capable of eliciting uniform, long-term immune memory responses that constitute the key to their proven efficacy. However, vaccines for pathogens considered as priority targets of public health concern are still lacking. The literature tends to focus more often on vaccine research problems associated with specific pathogens, but it is increasingly clear that there are common bottlenecks in vaccine research, which need to be solved in order to advance the development of the field as a whole. As part of a group of articles, the objective of the present report is to pinpoint these bottlenecks, exploring the literature for common problems and solutions in vaccine research applied to different situations. Our goal is to stimulate brainstorming among specialists of different fields related to vaccine research and development. Here, we briefly summarize the topics we intend to deal with in this discussion.

Engineering of virus-like particles for alternative vaccine candidate targeting a hypervariable peptide antigen element

“…However, similar to variolation and Jennerian vaccination, Pasteur's approach was still empirical, in the absence of knowledge regarding the structure and pathogenicity of the pathogens (Barbosa and Barral-Netto 2013, Bonanni and Santos 2011, Leung 2011). In the last decade of the nineteenth century, the first generation of vaccines for various diseases, such as typhoid fever, cholera, and the plague, were produced and tested (Plotkin and Plotkin 2011).…”

Cell membrane‐coated nanoparticles for the treatment of bacterial infection

“…Most conventional antibacterial vaccines are composed of attenuated bacteria, inactivated bacteria, bacterial component antigens, or inactivated bacterial toxins. These vaccines have effectively avoided millions of deaths globally each year (Plotkin, 2003), but there remain limitations in conventional vaccines that preclude their widespread use (Barbosa & Barral‐Netto, 2013; Lin et al, 2015). Despite exhibiting high immunogenicity, live attenuated vaccines also carry safety risks, particularly in immunocompromised persons.…”

Produção De Cepas Vacinais Do Vírus Da Caxumba: Uma Revisão De Literatura

“…Em geral, as vacinas contêm produtos imunogênicos que, quando inoculados em um indivíduo, são capazes de gerar imunidade e proteger contra o agente infeccioso numa exposição futura (9). Estes produtos podem ser obtidos pela inativação ou atenuação do agente infeccioso ou, ainda, ser produzidos a partir de partes do agente, obtidas por recombinação genética (10). A imunogenicidade gerada, então, está relacionada à eficácia da vacina, sendo verificada pelas altas taxas de anticorpos no sangue (11).…”