The best-characterized Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) ligands are lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and its chemically modified and detoxified variant, monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL). Although both molecules are active for human TLR4, they demonstrate a potency preference for mouse TLR4 based on data from transfected cell lines and primary cells of both species. After a high throughput screening process of s...

Although β-amyloid (Aβ) may be the primary driver of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, accumulation of pathological tau correlates with dementia in AD patients. Thus, the prevention/inhibition of AD may require vaccine/s targeting Aβ and tau simultaneously or sequentially. Since high antibody titers are required for AD vaccine efficacy, we have decided to generate vaccines, targeting Aβ (AV-1...

In a previous immunogenicity and efficacy study in mice, montanide ISA 720 (MISA) was indicated to be a better adjuvant than bacillus calmette guerin vaccine (BCG) for a Leishmania vaccine. In the present study, we report the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of Leishmania donovani (L. donovani) sonicated antigen delivered with alum-BCG (AlBCG), MISA or monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA) in vervet...

Adjuvants are indispensable for achieving a sufficient immune response from vaccinations. From a functional viewpoint, adjuvants are classified into two categories: "physical adjuvants" increase the efficacy of antigen presentation by antigen-presenting cells (APC) and "signal adjuvants" induce the maturation of APC. Our previous study has demonstrated that a physical adjuvant can be encrypted ...

While the immunogenic potential of the vaccination against infectious diseases was extensively shown, data on the safety assessment of recombinant proteins in vaccine formulations administered during pregnancy are still scarce. In the current study, the antigenicity of a vaccine against leishmaniasis (based on Leishmania braziliensis recombinant protein peroxidoxin) during pregnancy and possibl...

BACKGROUND A herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 candidate vaccine consisting of glycoprotein D (gD2) in alum and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL) reduced genital herpes disease in HSV-1-seronegative women but not in men or HSV-1-seropositive women. METHODS To determine the effect of HSV-1 serostatus on effectiveness of different vaccines, we tested gD2 in alum/MPL, gD2 in Freund's adjuvant, and dl5-29 ...

A prophylactic vaccine for genital herpes disease remains an elusive goal. We report the results of two studies performed collaboratively in different laboratories that assessed immunogenicity and vaccine efficacy in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1)-seropositive guinea pigs immunized and subsequently challenged intravaginally with HSV-2. In study 1, HSV-2 glycoproteins C (gC2) and D (gD2) were pr...