Science funding in low- and middle-income countries: the example of vaccine research.

There has been a recent increase in funding sources and overall commitment to tackle global health issues and reduce morbidity and mortality. The Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest charity, has a long track record of funding research in global health and has developed a new research strategy to tackle these issues. Here, we describe the Wellcome Trust's approach to funding researchers in low- and middle-income countries with a focus on how our funding portfolio supports vaccine delivery and development, with specific reference to mucosal immunity.

ICP34.5 deleted herpes simplex virus with enhanced oncolytic, immune stimulating, and anti-tumour properties.

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV1) in which the neurovirulence factor ICP34.5 is inactivated has been shown to direct tumour-specific cell lysis in several tumour models. Such viruses have also been shown to be safe in Phase I clinical trials by intra-tumoral injection in glioma and melanoma patients.

Herpes simplex virus vectors for the nervous system.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) has a number of properties which could potentially be exploited in the development of vectors for the delivery of genes to the nervous system. These include a natural tropism for neurons, a large viral genome allowing the insertion of multiple exogenous genes, and the ability to establish asymptomatic life-long latent infections. Despite these inherent advantages, the development of HSV vectors successfully exploiting all these properties has been problematical.

Development and optimization of herpes simplex virus vectors for multiple long-term gene delivery to the peripheral nervous system.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) has often been suggested as a suitable vector for gene delivery to the peripheral nervous system as it naturally infects sensory nerve terminals before retrograde transport to the cell body in the spinal ganglia where latency is established. HSV vectors might therefore be particularly appropriate for the study and treatment of chronic pain following vector administration by relatively noninvasive peripheral routes. However parameters allowing safe and efficient gene delivery to spinal ganglia following peripheral vector inoculation, or the long-term expression of delivered genes, have not been comprehensively studied.