Comparable and sustained levels of S1-RBD-IgG and S1-RBD-IgA in BNT162b2 homologous and CoronaVac-BNT162b2 heterologous booster vaccination: A 22-month prospective study in Malaysia.

This prospective cohort study examines the long-term humoral immune responses post-COVID-19 vaccination in 146 individuals who received either a homologous three-dose BNT162b2 vaccine regimen (PPP) or two primary doses of CoronaVac followed by BNT162b2 booster (SSP) in Malaysia. The study focuses on serum anti-S1-RBD-IgG, -IgA, and -IgM, using the ELISA method. The results show that BNT162b2 outperformed CoronaVac in the two dose primary vaccination series.

DNA Profiling in Human Identification: From Past to Present.

Forensic DNA typing has been widely accepted in the courts all over the world. This is because DNA profiling is a very powerful tool to identify individuals on the basis of their unique genetic makeup. DNA evidence is capable of not only identifying the presence of specific biospecimens in a crime scene, but it is also used to exonerate suspects who are innocent of a crime.

Effectiveness of Booster Vaccinations on the Control of COVID-19 during the Spread of Omicron Variant in Malaysia.

(1) Background: The assessment of vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant is vital in the fight against COVID-19, but research on booster vaccine efficacy using nationwide data was lacking at the time of writing. This study investigates the effectiveness of booster doses on the Omicron wave in Malaysia against COVID-19 infections and deaths; (2) Methods: This study uses nationally representative data on COVID-19 from 1 January to 31 March 2022, when the Omicron variant was predominant in Malaysia. Daily new infections, deaths, ICU utilization and Rt values were compared.

Transcriptomic Signature of Horseshoe Crab Hemocytes' Response to Lipopolysaccharides.

() is one of the four species of horseshoe crabs (HSCs). The HSC hemocytes store defense molecules that are released upon encountering invading pathogens. The HSCs rely on this innate immunity to continue its existence as a living fossil for more than 480 million years.

Overlapping of Pulmonary Fibrosis of Postacute COVID-19 Syndrome and Tuberculosis in the Helminth Coinfection Setting in Sub-Saharan Africa.

There is an increasing attention to the emerging health problem represented by the clinical and functional long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection, referred to as postacute COVID-19 syndrome. Clinical, radiographic, and autopsy findings have shown that a high rate of fibrosis and restriction of lung function are present in patients who have recovered from COVID-19. Patients with active TB, or those who have recovered from it, have fibrotic scarred lungs and, consequently, some degree of impaired respiratory function.

Immunometabolism of Immune Cells in Mucosal Environment Drives Effector Responses against .

Tuberculosis remains a major threat to global public health, with more than 1.5 million deaths recorded in 2020. Improved interventions against tuberculosis are urgently needed, but there are still gaps in our knowledge of the host-pathogen interaction that need to be filled, especially at the site of infection.

Application of liposomes in the treatment of infectious diseases.

The advances in the development of drugs and vaccines for major infectious diseases of tuberculosis (TB), malaria and HIV represent some of the most significant milestones in their therapeutic strategies. Yet, current drugs and vaccines display limitations such as drug resistance and low efficacy level. In recent years, new emerging and advanced nano-technology carrier liposomes have been widely studied towards producing drugs and vaccines capable of targeting infectious diseases.

Live, Genetically Attenuated, Cold-Chain-Free Cholera Vaccine-A Research and Development Journey: Light at the End of a Long Tunnel.

Cholera, a diarrheal disease caused by () O139 and O1 strains, remains a public health problem. The existing World Health Organization (WHO)-licenced, killed, multiple-dose oral cholera vaccines demand 'cold-chain supply' at 2 °C-8 °C. Therefore, a live, single-dose, cold-chain-free vaccine would relieve significant bottlenecks and costs of cholera vaccination campaigns.

Allelic Polymorphisms of Killer Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor Genes in Malay and Orang Asli Populations of Peninsular Malaysia.

Next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technology advancements provide new insight into the level of variation in killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes. High resolution allele genotyping of seven KIR genes was conducted among 94 unrelated Malay and Orang Asli (OA) individuals of Peninsular Malaysia. A manual bioinformatics analysis is performed and optimised by Sanger sequencing method.

Immunogenicity mechanism of mRNA vaccines and their limitations in promoting adaptive protection against SARS-CoV-2.

Since the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in late 2019, hundreds of millions of people have been infected worldwide. There have been unprecedented efforts in acquiring effective vaccines to confer protection against the disease. mRNA vaccines have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional vaccines due to their high potency with the capacity for rapid development and low manufacturing costs.

A novel peptide vaccination augments cytotoxic CD8 T-cell responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis HspX antigen.

Cellular immunity is a critical factor determining the safety and efficacy of newly developed vaccines against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Crosstalk between CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocytes plays central roles in perpetuating the cytotoxic killing to the infected cells for host clearance. Our study proposed a novel alternating MHC-class II restricted peptide vaccination strategy to enhance the antigen-specific CD8 T-cell activity against alpha-crystalline heat-shock protein (HspX) in C57BL/6 mice.

Comparative transcriptome profiling of horseshoe crab Tachypleus gigas hemocytes in response to lipopolysaccharides.

Horseshoe crabs (HSCs) are living fossil species of marine arthropods with a long evolutionary history spanning approximately 500 million years. Their survival is helped by their innate immune system that comprises cellular and humoral immune components to protect them against invading pathogens. To help understand the genetic mechanisms involved, the present study utilised the Illumina HiSeq platform to perform transcriptomic analysis of hemocytes from the HSC, Tachypleus gigas, that were challenged with lipopolysaccharides (LPS).

Mitochondrial DNA sequence of the horseshoe crab .

This paper reports on the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of a horseshoe crab, (), in Kuala Kemaman, Terengganu, Malaysia. Whole-genome sequencing of hemocyte DNA was performed with Illumina HiSeq system and the generated reads were assembled with ABySS 2.1.

Carriage of upper respiratory tract pathogens in rural communities of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.

Introduction: Pneumonia is a leading cause of death in Malaysia. Whilst many studies have reported the aetiology of pneumonia in Western countries, the epidemiology of pneumonia in Malaysia remains poorly understood. As carriage is a prerequisite for disease, we sought to improve our understanding of the carriage and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of respiratory tract pathogens in Malaysia.

Engineered Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen assembly into core-shell nanobeads for diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Despite recent advances in diagnosis, tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the ten leading causes of death worldwide. Here, we engineered Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) proteins (ESAT6, CFP10, and MTB7.7) to self-assemble into core-shell nanobeads for enhanced TB diagnosis.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Recombinant Expressing Antigen-85B Epitopes in Infected J774A.1 Murine Macrophages.

Tuberculosis (TB) causes more than 1.5 million deaths each year, remaining a significant global health problem. () and () share features, which support the use of the former use in new generation TB vaccine development.

A Direct Role for the CD1b Endogenous Spacer in the Recognition of a Antigen by T-Cell Receptors.

Lipids, glycolipids and lipopeptides derived from (Mtb) are presented to T cells by monomorphic molecules known as CD1. This is the case of the Mtb-specific sulfoglycolipid AcSGL, which is presented by CD1b molecules and is recognized by T cells found in tuberculosis (TB) patients and in individuals with latent infections. Our group, using filamentous phage display technology, obtained two specific ligands against the CD1b-AcSGL complex: (i) a single chain T cell receptor (scTCR) from a human T cell clone recognizing the CD1b-AcSGL complex; and (ii) a light chain domain antibody (dAbκ11).

Liposomes derived from promote immune activation of mice bone marrow-derived dendritic cells.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of mortality due to infectious diseases. The development of new generation vaccines against TB is of paramount importance for the control of the disease. In previous studies, liposomes obtained from lipids of Mycobacterium smegmatis (LMs) demonstrated their immunogenicity and protective capacity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in mice.

Development of an immunochromatographic lateral flow dipstick for the detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis 16 kDa antigen (Mtb-strip).

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a pathogenic bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB). This contagious disease remains a severe health problem in the world. The disease is transmitted via inhalation of airborne droplets carrying Mtb from TB patients.

Microbial biodiversity in the throats of pulmonary tuberculosis patients and tuberculin skin test (TST) positive and negative healthy individuals in Malaysia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the composition of throat microbiota in pulmonary tuberculosis patients (PTB) in comparison to healthy tuberculin skin test positive (TSTp) and negative (TSTn) individuals. Throat swabs samples were collected, and the microbiota was characterized. Richer operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were present in PTB group, compared to TSTp and TSTn.

TCR-like domain antibody against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) heat shock protein antigen presented by HLA-A*11 and HLA-A*24.

T cell receptor (TCR)-like antibodies, obtained with the use of phage display technology, sandwich the best of the both arms of the adaptive immune system. In this study, in vitro selections against the latency associated Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) heat shock protein 16 kDa antigen (16 kDa) presented by HLA-A*011 and HLA-A*24 were carried out with the use of a human domain phage antibody library. TCR-like domain antibodies (A11Ab and A24Ab) were successfully generated recognizing 16 kDa epitopes presented by HLA-A*011 and HLA-A*24 molecules respectively.

Pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections: current state and future management.

Currently, there is a trend of increasing incidence in pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections (PNTM) together with a decrease in tuberculosis (TB) incidence, particularly in developed countries. The prevalence of PNTM in underdeveloped and developing countries remains unclear as there is still a lack of detection methods that could clearly diagnose PNTM applicable in these low-resource settings. Since non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental pathogens, the vicinity favouring host-pathogen interactions is known as important predisposing factor for PNTM.

Diversified lineages and drug-resistance profiles of clinical isolates of complex in Malaysia.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major health problem in Malaysia with thousands of cases reported yearly. This is further burdened with the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) provides high-resolution molecular epidemiological data for the accurate determination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) lineages and prediction of the drug-resistance patterns.