Evaluation of a Series of Lipidated Tucaresol Adjuvants in a Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine Model.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections represent a global health challenge; however, developing a vaccine for treatment of HCV infection has remained difficult as heterogeneous HCV contains distinct genotypes, and each genotype contains various subtypes and different envelope glycoproteins. Currently, there is no effective preventive vaccine for achieving global control over HCV. In our efforts to improve upon current HCV vaccines we designed a synthetically accessible adjuvant platform, wherein we synthesized 11 novel lipidated tucaresol analogues to assess their immunological potential.

Anti-Opioid Antibodies in Individuals Using Chronic Opioid Therapy for Lower Back Pain.

In addition to the risk of developing opioid use disorder (OUD), known side-effects of long-term opioid use include chronic inflammation and hyperalgesia, which may arise from immune responses induced following chronic opioid use. To investigate this hypothesis, blood samples were obtained from individuals with chronic back pain who were either chronically taking prescription opioids or had minimal recent opioid exposure. Patient samples were analyzed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against hydrocodone- or oxycodone-hapten conjugates to assess the levels of antibodies present in the samples.

Sulfonate-isosteric replacement examined within heroin-hapten vaccine design.

Heroin overdose and addiction remain significant health and economic burdens in the world today costing billions of dollars annually. Moreover, only limited pharmacotherapeutic options are available for treatment of heroin addiction. In our efforts to combat the public health threat posed by heroin addiction, we have developed vaccines against heroin.

Enhancement of a Heroin Vaccine through Hapten Deuteration.

The United States is in the midst of an unprecedented epidemic of opioid substance use disorder, and while pharmacotherapies including opioid agonists and antagonists have shown success, they can be inadequate and frequently result in high recidivism. With these challenges facing opioid use disorder treatments immunopharmacotherapy is being explored as an alternative therapy option and is based upon antibody-opioid sequestering to block brain entry. Development of a heroin vaccine has become a major research focal point; however, producing an efficient vaccine against heroin has been particularly challenging because of the need to generate not only a potent immune response but one against heroin and its multiple psychoactive molecules.