Vaccine Target Validation

The Discovery of Vaccine Target is to locate highly polymorphic genes that may encode immunogenic antigens by using sequencing and comparisons of multiple isolates of the same species. Creative Biolabs is an expert in vaccine targeting discovery and verification services, specializing in vaccine biomarker discovery and data analysis services, including highly professional knowledge for next generation sequencing (NGS Sequencing).

Vaccine Candidates

The development of new vaccine candidates begins with identification of the unique ingredients of microorganisms that can elicit a protective immune response. Other than well exposed to immune system and highly immunogenic, successful vaccine antigen candidates should also have the following properties ^[1]:

Do not present homology with human proteins, in order to avoid a potential autoimmune response
Lack of transmembrane regions to facilitate their expression
Lack of cross reaction among other pathogenic antigens
Good antigenic and adhesion properties, which are important for the pathogenesis of the microorganism and for protection against the disease

Successful vaccine discovery depends on the effective antigen selection process. However, identifying the best antigens from thousands of potential candidates is never easy. There is no simple and reliable way to screen thousands of antigenic candidates quickly to identify those with specific immune functions so far. Current vaccine target discovery techniques use indirect or hypothetical driving methods to pre-select a smaller series of potential antigen candidates (e.g., T cell epitope prediction, proteomics, sequence analysis, serum antibody binding to pathogen encoded cDNA libraries or localization and function prediction algorithms).

NGS Sequencing

The next generation sequencing (NGS), as a high-throughput sequencing technology, has redefined the research of vaccine technology, allowing a very large sequencing data set to be generated at an affordable cost in a short period of time. Creative Biolabs focus on rapid mutate viral pathogens, which are currently the main targets of vaccine research. The next generation sequencing enables a broad range of applications including:

Reversible terminator sequencing (Illumina)
454 Pyrosequencing
Ion torrent semiconductor sequencing
Sequencing by ligation (SOLiD)

NGS has allowed us to sequester DNA and RNA faster and cheaper than ever before. These latest technologies not only improve accuracy and speed but also reduce manpower and costs, which have revolutionized genomics and molecular biology research. Vaccine biomarker discovery is making full use of NGS to uncover the complex dynamics of viral evolution and host response against these viruses, which greatly contributes to the likelihood of successful vaccine development.

Creative Biolabs is an expert company for vaccine targeting discovery services, including high expertise in next-generation-sequencing (NGS). Our scientists with years of experiences in NGS methodologies, coupled with advanced infrastructure, enable us to work effectively with our customers.

Reference

Monterrubio-López, GP. (2015). “Identification of Novel Potential Vaccine Candidates against Tuberculosis Based on Reverse Vaccinology.” Biomed Res Int. doi, 10.1155/2015/483150.

All of our products can only be used for research purposes. These vaccine ingredients CANNOT be used directly on humans or animals.