LAMP-1 Chimeric to HIV-1 p55Gag in the Immunization of Neonate Mice Induces an Early Germinal Center Formation and AID Expression.

Neonates have a limited adaptive response of plasma cells, germinal center (GC) B cells, and T follicular helper cells (T). As neonatal vaccination can be an important tool for AIDS prevention, these limitations need to be overcome. Chimeric DNA vaccine encoding p55Gag HIV-1 protein conjugated with lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP-1) has been described as immunogenic in the neonate period.

The Dermatophyte Induces Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Release by Human Neutrophils.

Neutrophils are the first leukocytes recruited to the site of infection and are thought to be responsible for fungal elimination from the skin such as dermatophytes. Neutrophils are able to secrete reactive oxygen species (ROS) and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) that can kill different fungi, including , spp., , and .

Clinical Characteristics and Survival Analysis in Frequent Alcohol Consumers With COVID-19.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can generate a systemic disease named coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has killed millions worldwide, presenting huge health and economic challenges worldwide. Several risk factors, such as age, co-infections, metabolic syndrome, and smoking have been associated with poor disease progression and outcomes.

Characterization of monocyte-derived dendritic cells used in immunotherapy for HIV-1-infected individuals.

Aims: A therapeutic vaccine based on monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDCs) has been shown to represent a promising strategy for the treatment of cancer and viral infections. Here, we characterized the MDDCs used as an immunogen in a clinical trial for an anti-HIV-1 therapeutic vaccine.

Patients & Methods: Monocytes obtained from 17 HIV-infected individuals were differentiated into MDDCs and, after loading with autologous HIV, the cells were characterized concerning surface molecule expression, migratory and phagocytosis capacity, cytokine production and the induction of an effective cell-mediated immune response.

Regulation of HIV-Gag expression and targeting to the endolysosomal/secretory pathway by the luminal domain of lysosomal-associated membrane protein (LAMP-1) enhance Gag-specific immune response.

We have previously demonstrated that a DNA vaccine encoding HIV-p55gag in association with the lysosomal associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP-1) elicited a greater Gag-specific immune response, in comparison to a DNA encoding the native gag. In vitro studies have also demonstrated that LAMP/Gag was highly expressed and was present in MHCII containing compartments in transfected cells. In this study, the mechanisms involved in these processes and the relative contributions of the increased expression and altered traffic for the enhanced immune response were addressed.

Maternal LAMP/p55gagHIV-1 DNA immunization induces in utero priming and a long-lasting immune response in vaccinated neonates.

Infants born to HIV-infected mothers are at high risk of becoming infected during gestation or the breastfeeding period. A search is thus warranted for vaccine formulations that will prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission. The LAMP/gag DNA chimeric vaccine encodes the HIV-1 p55gag fused to the lysosome-associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP-1) and has been shown to enhance anti-Gag antibody (Ab) and cellular immune responses in adult and neonatal mice; such a vaccine represents a new concept in antigen presentation.

Heterologous plasmid DNA prime-recombinant human adenovirus 5 boost vaccination generates a stable pool of protective long-lived CD8(+) T effector memory cells specific for a human parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi.

Recently, we described a heterologous prime-boost strategy using plasmid DNA followed by replication-defective human recombinant adenovirus type 5 as a powerful strategy to elicit long-lived CD8(+) T-cell-mediated protective immunity against experimental systemic infection of mice with a human intracellular protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi. In the present study, we further characterized the protective long-lived CD8(+) T cells. We compared several functional and phenotypic aspects of specific CD8(+) T cells present 14 or 98 days after the last immunizing dose and found the following: (i) the numbers of specific cells were similar, as determined by multimer staining or by determining the number of gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-secreting cells by enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay; (ii) these cells were equally cytotoxic in vivo; (iii) following in vitro stimulation, a slight decline in the frequency of multifunctional cells (CD107a(+) IFN-γ(+) or CD107a(+) IFN-γ(+) tumor necrosis factor alpha positive [TNF-α(+)]) was paralleled by a significant increase of CD107a singly positive cells after 98 days; (iv) the expression of several surface markers was identical, except for the reexpression of CD127 after 98 days; (v) the use of genetically deficient mice revealed a role for interleukin-12 (IL-12)/IL-23, but not IFN-γ, in the maintenance of these memory cells; and (vi) subsequent immunizations with an unrelated virus or a plasmid vaccine or the depletion of CD4(+) T cells did not significantly erode the number or function of these CD8(+) T cells during the 15-week period.

Mucosal and systemic anti-GAG immunity induced by neonatal immunization with HIV LAMP/gag DNA vaccine in mice.

Vaccines capable of inducing mucosal immunity in early postnatal life until adulthood, protecting early sexual initiation, should be considered as strategies to vaccination against HIV. The HIV-1 GAG protein as a chimera with the lysosome-associated membrane protein (LAMP/gag), encoded by a DNA vaccine, is targeted to the endosomal/lysosomal compartment that contains class II MHC molecules and has been shown to be immunogenic in adult mice. Assuming that one such strategy could help to overcome the immunological immaturity in the early postnatal period, we have evaluated the systemic and mucosal immunogenicity of LAMP/gag immunization in neonatal mice.

Immunization of neonatal mice with LAMP/p55 HIV gag DNA elicits robust immune responses that last to adulthood.

Successful T cell priming in early postnatal life that can generate effective long-lasting responses until adulthood is critical in HIV vaccination strategies because it prevents early sexual initiation and breastfeeding transmission of HIV. A chimeric DNA vaccine encoding p55 HIV gag associated with lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP-1; which drives the antigen to the MIIC compartment), has been used to enhance cellular and humoral antigen-specific responses in adult mice and macaques. Herein, we investigated LAMP-1/gag vaccine immunogenicity in the neonatal period in mice and its ability to generate long-lasting effects.

Maternal immunization to modulate the development of allergic response and pathogen infections.

This article reviews recent experimental approaches of preventive strategies regarding allergy and infections by pathogens, particularly in early childhood, by targeting maternal immunomodulation. Basic research is essential to understand maternal vaccination as a strategy to control allergic disease and bacterial and viral infections; thus, providing support for future translational research. The environmental stimuli and host genetic factors, along with maternal influences in early life when immune systems are developing and during postnatal life, are essential for the decision between tolerance induction or allergen sensitization.