An Approach to Identify and Characterize a Subunit Candidate Shigella Vaccine Antigen.

Shigellosis remains a serious issue throughout the developing countries, particularly in children under the age of 5. Numerous strategies have been tested to develop vaccines targeting shigellosis; unfortunately despite several years of extensive research, no safe, effective, and inexpensive vaccine against shigellosis is available so far. Here, we illustrate in detail an approach to identify and establish immunogenic outer membrane proteins from Shigella flexneri 2a as subunit vaccine candidates.

Shigella isolates from the global enteric multicenter study inform vaccine development.

BACKGROUND: Shigella, a major diarrheal disease pathogen worldwide, is the target of vaccine development. The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS) investigated burden and etiology of moderate-to-severe diarrheal disease in children aged <60 months and matched controls without diarrhea during 3 years at 4 sites in Africa and 3 in Asia. Shigella was 1 of the 4 most common pathogens across sites and age strata. GEMS Shigella serotypes are reviewed to guide vaccine development. METHODS: Subjects' stool specimens/rectal swabs were transported to site laboratories in transport media and plated onto xylose lysine desoxycholate and MacConkey agar. Suspect Shigella colonies were identified by biochemical tests and agglutination with antisera. Shigella isolates were shipped to the GEMS Reference Laboratory (Baltimore, MD) for confirmation and serotyping of S. flexneri; one-third of isolates were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for quality control. RESULTS: Shigella dysenteriae and S. boydii accounted for 5.0% and 5.4%, respectively, of 1130 Shigella case isolates; S. flexneri comprised 65.9% and S. sonnei 23.7%. Five serotypes/subserotypes comprised 89.4% of S. flexneri, including S. flexneri 2a, S. flexneri 6, S. flexneri 3a, S. flexneri 2b, and S. flexneri 1b. CONCLUSIONS: A broad-spectrum Shigella vaccine must protect against S. sonnei and 15 S. flexneri serotypes/subserotypes. A quadrivalent vaccine with O antigens from S. sonnei, S. flexneri 2a, S. flexneri 3a, and S. flexneri 6 can provide broad direct coverage against these most common serotypes and indirect coverage against all but 1 (rare) remaining subserotype through shared S. flexneri group antigens.

Vaccines against human diarrheal pathogens: current status and perspectives.

Worldwide, nearly 1.7 billion people per year contract diarrheal infectious diseases (DID) and almost 760 000 of infections are fatal. DID are a major problem in developing countries where poor sanitation prevails and food and water may become contaminated by fecal shedding. Diarrhea is caused by pathogens such as bacteria, protozoans and viruses. Important diarrheal pathogens are Vibrio cholerae, Shigella spp. and rotavirus, which can be prevented with vaccines for several years. The focus of this review is on currently available vaccines against these three pathogens, and on development of new vaccines. Currently, various types of vaccines based on traditional (killed, live attenuated, toxoid or conjugate vaccines) and reverse vaccinology (DNA/mRNA, vector, recombinant subunit, plant vaccines) are in development or already available. Development of new vaccines demands high levels of knowledge, experience, budget, and time, yet promising new vaccines often fail in preclinical and clinical studies. Efficacy of vaccination also depends on the route of delivery, and mucosal immunization in particular is of special interest for preventing DID. Furthermore, adjuvants, delivery systems and other vaccine components are essential for an adequate immune response. These aspects will be discussed in relation to the improvement of existing and development of new vaccines against DID.

Development and preclinical evaluation of a trivalent, formalin-inactivated Shigella whole-cell vaccine.

Studies were undertaken to manufacture a multivalent Shigella inactivated whole-cell vaccine that is safe, effective, and inexpensive. By using several formalin concentrations, temperatures, and incubation periods, an optimized set of inactivation conditions was established for Shigella flexneri 2a, S. sonnei, and S. flexneri 3a to produce inactivated whole cells expressing a full repertoire of Ipa proteins and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The inactivation conditions selected were treatment with 0.2% formalin (S. flexneri 2a and 3a) or 0.6% formalin (S. sonnei) for 48 h at 25°C. Vaccine formulations prepared under different inactivation conditions, in different doses (10E5, 10E7, and 10E9 cells), and with or without the inclusion of double-mutant heat-labile toxin (dmLT) were evaluated in mice. Two intranasal immunizations with ≥10E7 inactivated whole cells resulted in high levels of anti-Invaplex and moderate levels of LPS-specific IgG and IgA in serum and in lung and intestinal wash samples. Addition of dmLT to the vaccine formulations did not significantly enhance humoral immunogenicity. Minimal humoral responses for IpaB, IpaC, or IpaD were detected after immunization with inactivated whole Shigella cells regardless of the vaccine inactivation conditions. In guinea pigs, monovalent formulations of S. flexneri 2a of 3a or S. sonnei consisting of 10E8, 10E9, or 10E10 cells were protective in a keratoconjunctivitis assay. A trivalent formulation provided protection against all three serotypes (S. flexneri 2a, P = 0.018; S. flexneri 3a, P = 0.04; S. sonnei, P < 0.0001). The inactivated Shigella whole-cell vaccine approach incorporates an uncomplicated manufacturing process that is compatible with multivalency and the future development of a broadly protective Shigella vaccine.

Development of prophylactic recombinant HPV58-attenuated Shigella live vector vaccine and evaluation of its protective efficacy and immunogenicity in the guinea pig keratoconjunctivitis model.

To develop a prophylactic recombinant HPV58L1-attenuated Shigella live vector vaccine and evaluate its protective efficacy and immunogenicity in the guinea pig keratoconjunctivitis model, the HPV58L1 gene was cloned into vector pUCmt, and then subcloned into the suicide vector pCVD442. The recombinant plasmid pCVD442-HPV58L1 was introduced into attenuated Shigella (sf301:deltavirG) with the helper plasmid PRK2013 by filter mating. The positive colonies were harvested and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. The expression of the HPV58L1 protein with a molecular weight of 60 kDa was confirmed by western blot. The ability of the interested protein to self-assemble into virus-like particles was identified by transmission electron microscope, and murine erythrocyte hemagglutination assay. The guinea pig keratoconjunctivitis model was used to evaluate the protective efficacy and immunogenicity of the vaccine. Animal experiments showed that there was no keratoconjunctivitis occurred in the immunized group (HPV58-attenuated Shigella), and the serum levels of anti-HPV58L1-IgG and -IgA were obviously increased (P < 0.05), but the anti-sf301 LPS-IgG just slightly increased (P > 0.05). Enzymelinked immunosorbent spot assay showed that HPV58L1-specific IgA-antibody-secreting cells (ASC) and IgG-ASC of spleen and lymph nodes were also obviously increased (P < 0.01). In this study, a recombinant HPV58L1-attenuated Shigella live vector vaccine was successfully constructed, and it could induce strong humoral immune responses in the immunized animals, and induce protective antibody production.

Shigellosis: innate mechanisms of inflammatory destruction of the intestinal epithelium, adaptive immune response, and vaccine development.

Acute infectious colitis remains a major pediatric issue of worldwide impact because it still represents a significant public health burden among the larger group of diarrheal diseases with the highest mortality rate. It is also a relevant model of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Among cases of acute colitis of infectious origin, shigellosis is certainly the one that has benefited the most from a significant research effort. Shigella, the causative agent, is a Gram-negative bacterium that has the capacity to invade, disrupt, and cause inflammatory destruction of the intestinal epithelial barrier. The molecular and cellular bases of this invasive phenotype essentially encompass crossing of the epithelial lining, apoptotic killing of macrophages, entry into epithelial cells, and escape into the cytoplasm, followed by cell-to-cell spread. Intracellular colonization is likely to protect the micro-organisms from killing by humoral and cellular effectors of the innate immune response. Concurrently, the capacity of Shigella to reprogram invaded epithelial cells to produce proinflammatory mediators plays a major role in the strong inflammatory profile of the disease. This profile is likely to impact on the nature and quality of the adaptive response, which is dominated by humoral protection at the mucosal level.