Publications by authors named "Wergifosse B"

Background: This study investigated the safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity in healthy subjects of a Clostridioides difficile vaccine candidate with/without adjuvant, targeting toxins A and B.

Methods: In this first-in-human, phase 1, observer-blind study, subjects aged 18-45 years were randomized to receive F2 antigen (n = 10) or placebo (n = 10), and subjects aged 50-70 years to receive F2 antigen plus AS01 adjuvant (n = 45), F2 antigen (n = 45), or placebo (n = 30) in 2 doses 1 month apart. A subcohort (n = 40) received a third dose 15 months later.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The currently licensed quadrivalent MenACWY-CRM conjugate vaccine presentation consists of two vials (lyophilised MenA and liquid MenCWY) to be reconstituted before injection. A new fully liquid formulation in a single vial has been developed to further improve the vaccine presentation. Since the MenA structure is subject to hydrolytic degradation, this study was conducted to compare the immunogenicity and safety of the investigational MenACWY-CRM liquid vaccine with the licensed vaccine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Immunogenicity of vaccines against meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) has been assessed pre-licensure with a human serum bactericidal activity assay (hSBA), tested against small numbers of strains. We report the qualification/validation of an alternative qualitative hSBA which uses endogenous complement (enc-hSBA) present in the vaccinee's serum. Serum samples were collected from adults pre-vaccination and post-vaccination with the 4-component MenB vaccine (4CMenB).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Coelenterazine is a luciferin found in many marine bioluminescent organisms. This luciferin also possesses high antioxidant properties and an exceptional ability to protect cells exposed to oxidative stress. It has been suggested that coelenterazine's antioxidative mechanisms include the formation of an oxidation product, coelenteramine, also endowed with chain-breaking properties.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A series of imidazolopyrazinones 3, substituted at C-2, and C-2/C-6, has been prepared. The compounds behaved as quenchers of superoxide anion. The more active compounds are structurally related to coelenterazine, a natural substrate of marine bioluminescence.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Coelenterazine (3,7-dihydro-2-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-6-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-8-benzylimidazolo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3- one) is a substrate for the bioluminescence reaction in many marine animals. Recent work showed that CLZn, its synthetic analogue CLZm, and their common oxidation product coelenteramine (CLM) have strong antioxidative properties in acellular lipid peroxidation systems as well as in rat hepatocytes subjected to tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP). Here, we analyzed the ability of CLZm and several imidazolopyrazinone (IMPZs) analogues to protect primary cultures of rat hepatocytes against a nitrofurantoin (NF)-induced oxidative stress.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Coelenterazine (CLZn; 3, 7-dihydro-2-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-6-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-8-benzylimidazolo++ +[1 ,2-a]pyrazin-3-one), the substrate for bioluminescence reactions in many marine animals, is endowed with high antioxidant properties. This work investigated the antioxidative properties of CLZn in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes subjected to the oxidant tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP). Micromolar concentrations of CLZn increased survival and decreased lipid peroxidation in rat hepatocytes subjected for 6 hr to 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bioluminescence, the emission of ecologically functional light by living organisms, emerged independently on several occasions, yet the evolutionary origins of most bioluminescent systems remain obscure. We propose that the luminescent substrates of the luminous reactions (luciferins) are the evolutionary core of most systems, while luciferases, the enzymes catalysing the photogenic oxidation of the luciferin, serve to optimise the expression of the endogenous chemiluminescent properties of the luciferin. Coelenterazine, a luciferin occurring in many marine bioluminescent groups, has strong antioxidative properties as it is highly reactive with reactive oxygen species such as the superoxide anion or peroxides.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF