Renewed hope for a vaccine against the intestinal adult Taenia solium.

Review of experimental and observational evidence about various cestode infections of mammalian hosts revives hope for the development of an effective vaccine against adult intestinal tapeworms, the central protagonists in their transmission dynamics. As for Taenia solium, there are abundant immunological data regarding cysticercosis in humans and pigs, but information about human taeniasis is scarce. A single publication reporting protection against T. solium taeniasis by experimental primo infection and by vaccination of an experimental foster host, the immunocompetent female hamster, kindles the hope of a vaccine against the tapeworm to be used in humans, its only natural definitive host.

Brucella spp. lumazine synthase: a novel adjuvant and antigen delivery system to effectively induce oral immunity.

Brucella lumazine synthase (BLS) has been previously used with success as a delivery system for systemic immunization against murine cysticercosis. We herein determined the usefulness of BLS as a new antigen-delivery system and mucosal-adjuvant using KETc1, one of the peptides of the anti-cysticercosis vaccine. A protection of up to 98% was induced when KETc1 was used as a chimera fused to BLS. Used as adjuvant of KETc1, BLS also induced a high level of protection (79%), which did not significantly differ from that induced by the cholera toxin (74%). KETc1 and BLS administered separately also reduced the parasite load. KETc1 administered orally as a chimera, and to a lesser extent with BLS as adjuvant, elicited IgG and IgA specific antibodies, which were detectable both in fecal extracts and in sera, and increased B and CD4 activated cells. BLS-KETc1 also increased the levels of transcription of TNF-alpha, IL-2 and IFNgamma in Peyer's patches, and in spleen, only increased TNF-alpha was observed. Overall, these results showed that BLS can be used as both an antigen-carrier and as an adjuvant in the design of new oral subunit vaccines.

Plasma amino acid levels discriminate between control subjects and mildly depressed elderly women.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Depression is the most common of all psychiatric disorders and the role of amino acid transmitters in this pathology has been recently studied. We undertook this study to investigate if the plasma levels of L-arginine, L-citrulline, L-glutamic acid, L-glutamine, L-asparagine and other amino acids, the L-citrulline/L-arginine and the L-tyrosine/L-phenylalanine ratios, and the nitrite levels are modified in mildly depressed women and if such changes are related to olfactory dysfunction. METHODS: Plasma samples were obtained from elderly female subjects (n = 21) with mild depression and (n = 48) controls. Amino acids were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography, plasma nitrite levels were measured using the Griess method, and olfactory performance was assessed by the combined testing of odor identification, odor discrimination, odor recognition, and the olfactory threshold. RESULTS: Compared to controls, depressed patients had a significantly higher concentration of L-arginine and a significantly lower L-citrulline/L-arginine ratio when the effect of other variables is not taken into account. A logistic regression model allowed us to identify two risk factors for mild depression, L-arginine and L-glutamic acid, and two protective factors, L-asparagine and the L-tyrosine/L-phenylalanine ratio. Additionally, a significant increase in nitrite levels in depressed women was found. No significant differences were found between the percentage of depressed and control women that identified the odors. CONCLUSIONS: We identified that the amino acids L-arginine and L-glutamic acid are risk factors for mild depression, whereas L-asparagine and the L-tyrosine/L-phenylalanine ratio are protective factors.

Improvement of the synthetic tri-peptide vaccine (S3Pvac) against porcine Taenia solium cysticercosis in search of a more effective, inexpensive and manageable vaccine.

Vaccination of pigs may curtail Taenia solium transmission by reducing the number of cysticerci, the precursors of adult intestinal tapeworms in humans. Several antigen preparations induce protection against porcine cysticercosis in experimental settings but only one subunit vaccine (S3Pvac) has been tested and proved effective in the field against naturally acquired disease. Besides improving of the vaccine's effectiveness, significant reductions in production costs and in the logistics of its administration are necessary for the feasibility of nationwide control programs. This review highlights the development of several versions of S3Pvac aimed to increase effectiveness, reduce costs and increase feasibility by novel delivery systems and alternative routes of administration.