Vaccines Against Parkinson's Disease (PD)

Neurodegenerative disease is an umbrella term for a range of conditions which primarily affect the neurons in the human brain. Among them, Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common disease in the world, and there is currently no cure available for the disease. As the incidence of PD increases, developing a vaccine that can prevent the disease will be an effective strategy for controlling PD. Creative Biolabs has extensive experience in the development of PD vaccines, thus is well-prepared to provide professional and targeted services to help researchers advance the development process.

Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Pathogenesis

The loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) in the brain, which further leads to the progressive and severe motor impairment, is the most important feature of Parkinson's disease. The results of more than a decade of research indicate that protein α-synuclein (α-syn), which is normally expressed at the neuronal terminals, may be involved in the development of PD. A series of studies have found that modification or accumulation of this protein caused by mutations or a large increase in the number of the gene encoding α-syn contributes greatly to the occurrence of PD. Studies in animals have also indicated that prion-like spread of α-syn protein may induce PD-like neurodegeneration. In addition to the α-syn gene and the role of protein in the development of PD, neuroinflammation is also a very important factor in the pathogenesis of PD. Microglia can ensure the stable production of reactive oxygen species, IL-1, TNF, and IL-6 in the brain, and its chronic activation can lead to continuous damage to neurons dealing with abnormal state of α-syn. Moreover, the interaction of microglia with the peripheral immune system could cause infiltrating immune cells to produce deleterious immune response. The involvement of peripheral immune responses in PD also provides an idea for the treatment of PD, which is to control microglia-induced neuroinflammation by vaccination.

Immune Environment in PD

Many studies have reported changes in the levels of cytokines in the brain and serum of PD patients. These confirm that the immune system is involved in the disease. And what is worth noting is that in addition to pro-inflammatory cytokines, the level of some cytokines that are anti-inflammatory or with repair function has also increased. These results have further led to the hypothesis that proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1 can maintain microglia activation and promote dopaminergic neuron death in PD patients. Dopamine and other neurotransmitters regulate the differentiation of CD4 T cells. In the course of PD disease, the number of available DAs is greatly reduced compared to normal, and these limited DAs will bind to the receptor with the lowest K_i, and finally cause the CD4 T cell response to shifting to Th1 type, and due to the suppressed IL-10 production. The tolerance will also be compromised. In the immune system of PD patients, the number of B cells also decreased, and their proliferation was also regulated by DA.

Development of Vaccines against PD

At present, the design ideas of PD vaccine can be divided into two strategies, one is to produce antibodies against α-syn, and the other is to produce T cell responses that can regulate neuroinflammatory reactions. The main goal of the former is to remove the accumulated α-syn, while the latter targets microglia. Immunization with some non-PD related antigens such as COP-1, MOG, VIP, BCG, CFS, and α-syn can reduce the death of neuronal cells and regulate the microglia response. In addition, an increase in the number of Tregs cells in the spleen, an increase in DA levels, and even a recovery of dopaminergic neurons was observed after BCG vaccination.

Neurodegenerative diseases, especially Parkinson's disease, seriously affect the quality of life of patients and the risk of death is high, so the development of effective PD vaccine is imperative. Creative Biolabs has many years of experience in the field of vaccines. We have also conducted in-depth research on vaccines for neurodegenerative diseases. Countless successful cases that we helped researchers to favorably complete their research tasks have proven that Creative Biolabs is the most reliable partner for your vaccine development!

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