Complete genome data of infectious microorganisms permit systematic computational sequence-based predictions and experimental testing of candidate vaccine epitopes. Both, predictions and the interpretation of experiments rely on existing information in the literature which is mostly manually extracted and curated. The growing amount of data and literature information has created a major bottleneck for the interpretation of results and maintenance of curated databases. The lack of suitable free-text information extraction, processing, and reporting tools prompted us to develop a knowledge discovery support system that enhances the understanding of immune response and vaccine development. The current prototype system, Gene expression/epitpopes/protein interaction (GEpi), focuses on molecular functions of HIV-infected T-cells and HIV epitope information, using textmining, and interrelation of biomolecular data from domain-specific databases with MEDLINE abstract-inferred information. Results showed that extraction and processing of molecular interaction, disease associations, and gene ontology-derived functional information generate intuitive knowledge reports that aid the interpretation of host-pathogen interaction. In contrast, epitope (word and sequence) information in MEDLINE abstracts is surprisingly sparse and often lacks necessary context information, such as HLA-restriction. Since the majority of epitope information is found in tables, figures, and legends of full-text articles, its extraction may not require sophisticated natural language processing techniques. Support of vaccine development through textmining requires therefore the timely development of domain-specific extraction rules for full-text articles, and a knowledge model for epitope-related information.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ymeth.2004.06.009 | DOI Listing |
Acta Pharm Sin B
December 2024
Wuya College of Innovation, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang 110016, China.
The respiratory tract is susceptible to various infections and can be affected by many serious diseases. Vaccination is one of the most promising ways that prevent infectious diseases and treatment of some diseases such as malignancy. Direct delivery of vaccines to the respiratory tract could mimic the natural process of infection and shorten the delivery path, therefore unique mucosal immunity at the first line might be induced and the efficiency of delivery can be high.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNew Microbes New Infect
February 2025
Department of Global and Public Health, Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, WHO Collaborating Centre for Travellers' Health, Centre of Competence for Military Medicine Biology, University of Zürich, Switzerland.
Background: The rapid development and distribution of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines has been essential in containing the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic around the globe. For ongoing and future immunization campaigns globally, there is a need to evaluate the impact of population demographics such as age and sex, on vaccine efficacy and safety.
Methods: This systematic review (PROSPERO ID CRD42023328245) conducted according to PRISMA guidelines evaluates the impact of age and sex on the safety and efficacy of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations administrated in 15 studies that were chosen according to strict criteria.
Zhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi
January 2025
National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing102206, China.
Pneumococcal disease (PD) caused by (Sp) is a global public health concern. Children younger than 5 years and elderly over 60 years, due to immature development of the immune system early in life or the gradual decline of immune function with age, are high-risk groups for pneumococcal infections, which makes the disease burden particularly serious and the situation of prevention and control grim. Vaccination is the most effective measure to prevent PD and reduce pneumococcal antimicrobial resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZhonghua Yi Xue Za Zhi
January 2025
Public Health Emergency Management Innovation Center, Key Laboratory of Pathogen Infection Prevention and Control (Peking Union Medical College), Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing100730, China.
The prevalence and evolution of respiratory pathogens are changing, and issues related to drug-resistance are becoming increasingly prominent in the post-COVID era. The urgency of controlling respiratory pathogens has intensified. This issue organizes expert discussions to address the resurgence of various respiratory pathogens, summarizing current status of pathogen surveillance, drug-resistance research and vaccine development, while suggesting countermeasures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMJ Open
December 2024
Perinatal HIV Research Unit (PHRU), University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.
Purpose: In the setting of an established childhood pneumococcal vaccination programme with immediate initiation and treatment of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLWH), the risk of adult pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is not recently described. We aimed to investigate CAP incidence, recurrence, mortality, risk factors and microbiology before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participants: Adults aged ≥18 years were enrolled in three South African provinces from March 2019 to October 2021, with a brief halt during the initial COVID-19 lockdown.
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