Virology Commons^™

Malaria Transmission Blocking Vaccines, Lukasz Jacek Sewera

Master's Theses

Malaria affects 198 million people and kills 584,000 each year, predominantly in Sub-Saharan Africa (WHO). The most severe form of malaria is caused by the protozoan parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Development of a vaccine against P. falciparum has been hindered by its complex life cycle with multiple antigenically distinct human and mosquito stages. To effectively prevent disease and reduce the parasite burden in populations, a vaccine will need to target multiple stages, including blocking transmission at the mosquito stage.

Antibodies generated against P. falciparum mosquito stage antigen Pfs25 can prevent parasite transmission from humans to mosquitoes. However, Pfs25 is poorly immunogenic …

Adenovirus Vectors As Potent Adjuvants In Vaccine Development, Kathleen Ann Mcguire

Dissertations

Due to their ability to activate the immune system, replication-defective Adenoviruses (Ad) are potential vaccine vectors for several pathogens. The proinflammatory response to Ad contributes to the response to vaccine antigens. We found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) are an important signal in the proinflammatory response to Ad. We identified that serotype 5 adenovirus (Ad5) elicits ROS by inducing mitochondrial membrane damage, a process that is dependent on endosomal membrane rupture and Cathepsin release. This mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to NLRP3 inflammasome- and NFκB-dependent innate immune activation. The ROS-dependent inflammatory response likely contributes to the adaptive immune response by supporting DC …