Recent Progress on Vaccine Development against Infectious Diseases

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Vaccines against Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2023) | Viewed by 18434

Special Issue Editors

Institute of Molecular Medicine McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: virology; vaccinology; immunology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Molecular Medicine McGovern Medical School, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA
Interests: antibody immunotherapy; cancer; virology; neutralizing mechanism; antibody engineering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vaccination is one of the most effective measures to prevent the spreading of infectious diseases, including the ongoing catastrophic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Thanks to the worldwide resource and endeavor, two mRNA-based vaccines, which are the first of the class, are available within one year since the discovery of the causative agent. More than two dozen COVID-19 vaccines have now been authorized around the globe, and many more remain in active development. The wide application of current vaccines among adults has shown effects to curb the pandemic. However, the field still faces big challenges ahead, such as the emergence of new variants, long-term safety concerns, vaccination in the young children (<5 years), and preparedness for future pandemics not only for coronaviruses but also for other viruses with pandemic-potential.

No coronavirus vaccine is available before the COVID-19 pandemic. While knowledge of other coronaviruses and established vaccine platforms greatly speeds up the development of COVID-19 vaccines, novel concepts and new technologies of vaccine development are widely investigated by scientists worldwide. The vaccine field faces great challenges and opportunities during the current pandemic and experiences major advancement. This special issue of MPDI Vaccines focuses on the most recent progress and current vaccine development trends in the vaccine field. We sincerely invite you to contribute with an original research article, review, or perspective on the latest researches to highlight, (i) novel experimental vaccine candidates, (ii) novel adjuvants and delivery vehicles, (iii) immune responses elicited by a novel vaccine, (iv) concerns and optimizations of vaccine strategies. This special issue emphasizes on major infectious diseases caused by viruses, but related topics on other human pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, and parasites, are also welcomed.  

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Xiaohua Ye
Dr. Zhiqiang Ku
Dr. Srinivasa Reddy Bonam
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vaccine development
  • infectious diseases
  • COVID-19
  • mRNA vaccine
  • adjuvants
  • immune responses
  • delivery vehicles

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

22 pages, 3253 KiB  
Article
Cost-Effectiveness of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Adults in Italy: Comparing New Alternatives and Exploring the Role of GMT Ratios in Informing Vaccine Effectiveness
by Vincenzo Restivo, Vincenzo Baldo, Laura Sticchi, Francesca Senese, Gian Marco Prandi, Linde Pronk, Kwame Owusu-Edusei, Kelly D. Johnson and Tim Ignacio
Vaccines 2023, 11(7), 1253; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11071253 - 18 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1981
Abstract
In Italy, a sequential pneumococcal vaccination with conjugate vaccine (PCV) and polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) is recommended for individuals aged ≥ 65 years and those at risk for pneumococcal disease (PD) aged ≥ 6 years. The aim of this study was to assess the [...] Read more.
In Italy, a sequential pneumococcal vaccination with conjugate vaccine (PCV) and polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) is recommended for individuals aged ≥ 65 years and those at risk for pneumococcal disease (PD) aged ≥ 6 years. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of the new vaccines, i.e., approved 15-valent and 20-valent PCVs. A published Markov model was adapted to evaluate the lifetime cost-effectiveness of vaccination with PCV15 + PPSV23 versus PCV13 + PPSV23, PCV20 alone, PCV20 + PPSV23, and No Vaccination. Simulated cohorts representing the Italian population, including individuals aged ≥ 65 years, those at risk aged 50–100 years, and those deemed high risk aged 18–100 years were assessed. Outcomes were accrued in terms of incremental PD cases, costs, quality-adjusted life years, life years, and the cost–utility ratio relative to PCV13 + PPSV23. The conservative base case analysis, including vaccine efficacy based on PCV13 data, showed that sequential vaccination with PCV15 or PCV20 in combination with PPSV23 is preferred over sequential vaccination with PCV13 + PPSV23. Especially in the high-risk group, PCV15 + PPSV23 sequential vaccination was dominant over No Vaccination and resulted in an ICUR of €3605 per QALY gained. Including PCV20 + PPSV23 into the comparison resulted in the domination of the PCV15 + PPSV23 and No Vaccination strategies. Additionally, explorative analysis, including the geometric mean titer (GMT) informed vaccine effectiveness (VE) was performed. In the low-risk and high-risk groups, the results of the GMT scenarios showed PCV15 + PPSV23 to be dominant over the other sequential vaccines. These findings suggest that if real-world studies would confirm a difference in vaccine effectiveness of PCV15 and PCV20 versus PCV13 based on GMT ratios, PCV15 + PPSV23 could prove a highly immunogenic and effective vaccination regime for the Italian adult population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Vaccine Development against Infectious Diseases)
Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 2165 KiB  
Article
Development of MVA-d34 Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine: Design and Immunogenicity
by Ramil R. Mintaev, Dina V. Glazkova, Olga V. Orlova, Georgiy M. Ignatyev, Alexey S. Oksanich, German A. Shipulin and Elena V. Bogoslovskaya
Vaccines 2023, 11(4), 831; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11040831 - 12 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2346
Abstract
Dengue fever, an infectious disease that affects more than 100 million people every year, is a global health problem. Vaccination may be the most effective prevention strategy for the disease. However, the development of vaccines against dengue fever is complicated by the high [...] Read more.
Dengue fever, an infectious disease that affects more than 100 million people every year, is a global health problem. Vaccination may be the most effective prevention strategy for the disease. However, the development of vaccines against dengue fever is complicated by the high risk of developing an antibody-dependent increase in infection. This article describes the development of an MVA-d34 vaccine against the dengue virus based on a safe and effective MVA viral vector. The DIII domains of the envelope protein (E) of the dengue virus are used as vaccine antigens, as antibodies against these domains do not cause an enhancement of infection. The use of the DIII domains of each of the four dengue virus serotypes made it possible to generate a humoral response against all four dengue virus serotypes in immunized mice. We also showed that the sera of vaccinated mice present virus-neutralizing activity against dengue serotype 2. Thus, the developed MVA-d34 vaccine is a promising candidate vaccine against dengue fever. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Vaccine Development against Infectious Diseases)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

16 pages, 1379 KiB  
Review
Advances in saRNA Vaccine Research against Emerging/Re-Emerging Viruses
by Yalan Liu, Yuncheng Li and Qinxue Hu
Vaccines 2023, 11(7), 1142; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11071142 - 24 Jun 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2927
Abstract
Although conventional vaccine approaches have proven to be successful in preventing infectious diseases in past decades, for vaccine development against emerging/re-emerging viruses, one of the main challenges is rapid response in terms of design and manufacture. mRNA vaccines can be designed and produced [...] Read more.
Although conventional vaccine approaches have proven to be successful in preventing infectious diseases in past decades, for vaccine development against emerging/re-emerging viruses, one of the main challenges is rapid response in terms of design and manufacture. mRNA vaccines can be designed and produced within days, representing a powerful approach for developing vaccines. Furthermore, mRNA vaccines can be scaled up and may not have the risk of integration. mRNA vaccines are roughly divided into non-replicating mRNA vaccines and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines. In this review, we provide an overview of saRNA vaccines, and discuss future directions and challenges in advancing this promising vaccine platform to combat emerging/re-emerging viruses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Vaccine Development against Infectious Diseases)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 28740 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in the Lipid Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery of mRNA Vaccines
by K. Swetha, Niranjan G. Kotla, Lakshmi Tunki, Arya Jayaraj, Suresh K. Bhargava, Haitao Hu, Srinivasa Reddy Bonam and Rajendra Kurapati
Vaccines 2023, 11(3), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11030658 - 14 Mar 2023
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 10247
Abstract
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have recently emerged as one of the most advanced technologies for the highly efficient in vivo delivery of exogenous mRNA, particularly for COVID-19 vaccine delivery. LNPs comprise four different lipids: ionizable lipids, helper or neutral lipids, cholesterol, and lipids attached [...] Read more.
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have recently emerged as one of the most advanced technologies for the highly efficient in vivo delivery of exogenous mRNA, particularly for COVID-19 vaccine delivery. LNPs comprise four different lipids: ionizable lipids, helper or neutral lipids, cholesterol, and lipids attached to polyethylene glycol (PEG). In this review, we present recent the advances and insights for the design of LNPs, as well as their composition and properties, with a subsequent discussion on the development of COVID-19 vaccines. In particular, as ionizable lipids are the most critical drivers for complexing the mRNA and in vivo delivery, the role of ionizable lipids in mRNA vaccines is discussed in detail. Furthermore, the use of LNPs as effective delivery vehicles for vaccination, genome editing, and protein replacement therapy is explained. Finally, expert opinion on LNPs for mRNA vaccines is discussed, which may address future challenges in developing mRNA vaccines using highly efficient LNPs based on a novel set of ionizable lipids. Developing highly efficient mRNA delivery systems for vaccines with improved safety against some severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants remains difficult. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Progress on Vaccine Development against Infectious Diseases)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop