Humoral immunoresponse elicited against an adenoviral-based SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus vaccine in elderly patients.

The early sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 viral genome allowed for a speedy development of effective vaccines against the virus. Nevertheless, age-related immunosenescence, the inability to mount strong immune responses, still represents a major obstacle. Here, in a group of 149 elderly volunteers (70-96 years old), evolution of the humoral immune response over time to Gam-COVID-Vac (Sputnik V), a vaccine based on heterologous recombinant adenovirus-26 (Ad26) and adenovirus-5 (Ad5) carrying the Spike genome, was analyzed by an anti-RBD ELISA. At 28 days post vaccination (dpv), a seroconversion rate of 91% was achieved, showing the importance of administering at least two doses of Gam-COVID-Vac to elicit a robust immune response, especially in elderly individuals without previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Interestingly, IgG specific antibodies that reached their highest titers around 28 dpv (median = 740), persisted without significant decrease after 60 dpv (median = 650). After 90 dpv, IgG titers began to drop, and at 180 dpv only 44.7% of the elderly individuals remained with detectable anti-RBD IgG antibodies. No significant differences were observed in specific humoral immune responses between genders at early times point. However, at 60 dpv anti-RBD titers were more persistent in elderly females, and only dropped at 90 dpv (p < 0.0001). As expected, the highest antibodies titers were elicited in the youngest subgroup (70-74 years). Our results show that Gam-COVID-Vac was able to deal with the ageing of the immune system, eliciting a robust immune response in an elderly cohort, which lasted approximately 90 dpv at high levels, and protected against COVID-19.

Lactic Acid Bacteria as Cell Factories for the Generation of Bioactive Peptides.

There is a growing interest in the incorporation of functional foods in the daily diet to achieve health promotion and disease risk reduction. Numerous studies have focused on the production of biologically active peptides as nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients due to their health benefits. These short peptides, displaying antihypertensive, antioxidant, mineral binding, immunomodulatory and antimicrobial activities are hidden in a latent state within the primary sequences of food proteins requiring enzymatic proteolysis for their release. While microbial fermentation is one of the major and economically most convenient processes used to generate bioactive peptides, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are widely used as starter cultures for the production of diverse fermented foods. This article reviews the current knowledge on LAB as cell factories for the production of bioactive peptides from a variety of food protein sources. These microorganisms depend on a complex proteolytic system to ensure successful fermentation processes. In the dairy industry, LAB containing cell envelope-associated proteinases (CEPs) are employed as biocatalysts for the first step of casein breakdown releasing bioactive peptides during milk fermentation. A better understanding of the functionality and regulation of the proteolytic system of LAB opens up future opportunities for the production of novel food-derived compounds with potential health-promoting properties.