Vaccines Against Prion Disease
The suffering of neurodegenerative diseases on some elderly people and even young people has increasingly become a concern of the society. As a kind of neurodegenerative disease with a high mortality rate, scientists have never stopped their steps on research on prion disease. Creative Biolabs has also been arming itself for the battle with disease using the vaccine weapon over a decade. From viral vaccines to bacterial vaccines, from cancer vaccines to special disease vaccines, we have been trying to remove every barrier that impedes human health with the most enthusiasm and professionalism.
Prion Disease
Prion Disease is also a type of neurodegenerative disease caused by the transformation of the normal prion protein PrPc into an abnormal form of prion PrPsc. The primary structure of the former is α-helical, while it is β-pleated sheet in the transformed abnormal form of the prion protein. Due to the study of the disease by Alfons Jakob and Hans Creutzfeldt, the disease is commonly referred to as Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease. Due to the features of transmissibility, long incubation period from exposure to symptom onset, the disease was once thought to be caused by a lentivirus. It is currently known that prion disease can occur through three mechanisms: spontaneous, hereditary, and acquired by infection or transmitted. The pathogenesis of the disease is roughly as follows: the misfolded prion protein PrPsc functions as a template. When it meets the normal prion protein PrPc, it can convert PrPc into PrPsc. This transformation is exponential and eventually leads to a huge accumulation of abnormal prions. However, it is still unclear whether it is the accumulation of PrPsc or the intermediate product of conversion from PrPc into PrPsc the culprit for neurodegeneration. At the genetic level, the researchers believe that the mutation of prion protein gene PRNP is a possible reason for the susceptible conversion of PrPc into PrPsc.
Development of Vaccines against Prion Disease
PrPc is a protein widely expressed in humans, so a major problem to be solved in the development of prion vaccine is to overcome the tolerance of T cells to the vaccines. Several studies have shown that cell-based therapies can overcome host tolerance to PrP. For example, after T cells containing PrP-specific T-cell receptors were infused into wild-type mice, they failed to stimulate PrP-specific antibodies, but they appeared to secrete IL-4 to mediate protection. What’s more, wild mice transplanted with PrP peptide-loaded dendritic cells were also able to produce IL-4, IFN-γ, and PrP-specific antibodies. In addition, the survival time of these mice after exposure to prions was also prolonged. More and more research is now taking place towards discovering new epitopes or vaccine formulations. The study of prion-specific epitopes aims to develop an effective vaccine that stimulates a specific anti-PrPsc response with little or no self-reactive response to host PrP. YYR, YML, and another motif in the loop linking β-sheet 2 to α-helix 2 are the three unique PrPsc epitopes currently found. In sheep, vaccines designed with these epitopes are capable of eliciting a durable PrPsc-specific antibody response, but whether these antibodies are able to provide sufficient protection remains to be further verified. One important point to note when designing a prion disease vaccine is that how to develop vaccines that are capable of evading autoimmunity against PrPc should be taken into account because prion disease vaccines can mimic the pathogenesis of prion.
The confrontation with disease is one of the unchanging themes of human beings. Improving health and perfecting the quality of life are the eternal pursuit of mankind. Creative Biolabs is proud to have been in this great cause for more than 10 years, and we are also proud of our hard work and considerate service in the field of vaccines, which has been highly recognized and praised by our peers around the world. Outstanding achievements make us fully confident and we are therefore more devout to treat every task of our customers. We are totally well-prepared for vaccine development in neurodegenerative diseases. If you have any needs in this aspect, handing it over to us will ensure you without any worries!
All of our products can only be used for research purposes. These vaccine ingredients CANNOT be used directly on humans or animals.
