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Humans

Thomas Jefferson University

Microbiology

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Monophosphoryl Lipid A-Based Adjuvant To Promote The Immunogenicity Of Multivalent Meningococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccines, Kishore Alugupalli Apr 2024

Monophosphoryl Lipid A-Based Adjuvant To Promote The Immunogenicity Of Multivalent Meningococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccines, Kishore Alugupalli

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Activation of the adaptive immune system requires the engagement of costimulatory pathways in addition to B and T cell Ag receptor signaling, and adjuvants play a central role in this process. Many Gram-negative bacterial polysaccharide vaccines, including the tetravalent meningococcal conjugate vaccines (MCV4) and typhoid Vi polysaccharide vaccines, do not incorporate adjuvants. The immunogenicity of typhoid vaccines is due to the presence of associated TLR4 ligands in these vaccines. Because the immunogenicity of MCV4 is poor and requires boosters, I hypothesized that TLR4 ligands are absent in MCV4 and that incorporation of a TLR4 ligand-based adjuvant would improve their immunogenicity. …


The Mrna-Lnp Vaccines - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly?, Botond Z. Igyártó, Zhen Qin Feb 2024

The Mrna-Lnp Vaccines - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly?, Botond Z. Igyártó, Zhen Qin

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

The mRNA-LNP vaccine has received much attention during the COVID-19 pandemic since it served as the basis of the most widely used SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in Western countries. Based on early clinical trial data, these vaccines were deemed safe and effective for all demographics. However, the latest data raise serious concerns about the safety and effectiveness of these vaccines. Here, we review some of the safety and efficacy concerns identified to date. We also discuss the potential mechanism of observed adverse events related to the use of these vaccines and whether they can be mitigated by alterations of this vaccine mechanism …


Dietary L-Tryptophan Consumption Determines The Number Of Colonic Regulatory T Cells And Susceptibility To Colitis Via Gpr15, Nguyen Van, Karen Zhang, Rachel Wigmore, Anne Kennedy, Carolina Dasilva, Jialing Huang, Manju Ambelil, Jose Villagomez, Gerald O'Connor, Randy Longman, Miao Cao, Adam Snook, Michael Platten, Gerard Kasenty, Luis Sigal, George C Prendergast, Sangwon Kim Nov 2023

Dietary L-Tryptophan Consumption Determines The Number Of Colonic Regulatory T Cells And Susceptibility To Colitis Via Gpr15, Nguyen Van, Karen Zhang, Rachel Wigmore, Anne Kennedy, Carolina Dasilva, Jialing Huang, Manju Ambelil, Jose Villagomez, Gerald O'Connor, Randy Longman, Miao Cao, Adam Snook, Michael Platten, Gerard Kasenty, Luis Sigal, George C Prendergast, Sangwon Kim

Department of Microbiology and Immunology Faculty Papers

Environmental factors are the major contributor to the onset of immunological disorders such as ulcerative colitis. However, their identities remain unclear. Here, we discover that the amount of consumed L-Tryptophan (L-Trp), a ubiquitous dietary component, determines the transcription level of the colonic T cell homing receptor, GPR15, hence affecting the number of colonic FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells and local immune homeostasis. Ingested L-Trp is converted by host IDO1/2 enzymes, but not by gut microbiota, to compounds that induce GPR15 transcription preferentially in Treg cells via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor. Consequently, two weeks of dietary L-Trp supplementation nearly double …