New vaccine has potential to reduce volume of clinical laboratory testing for bacterial and viral infections
By now, nearly all pathologists and clinical laboratory scientists acknowledge that advances in molecular diagnostics and genetic testing are contributing to significant improvements in patient care. Now comes news of a comparable breakthrough in another field of medicine with the potential to protect many individuals from pneumonia and similar infectious diseases.
A new way to develop vaccines made the news recently. Researchers at the University of Buffalo (UB) in New York have found a new way to reduce infections of specific and widespread Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) diseases.
This cutting-edge pneumococcal vaccine allows Streptococcus pneumoniae to colonize and live inside the body as long as there is no risk to the host. When a threat is detected, the vaccine establishes an immune system response to annihilate the disease-causing bacteria.
“These are very serious illnesses that we haven’t been able to completely suppress,” stated Blaine A. Pfeifer, PhD, in a UB press release. “The vaccine we’re developing could finally get that job done.” Dr. Pfeifer is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at UB’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
The vaccine identifies strains of the pneumonia-causing bacteria by examining proteins on the bacteria’s surface. When these surface proteins are disengaged from the bacterial coating, the immune system is ordered to attack.
“With conventional vaccines, the approach has been: ‘What bacteria do we want to target and how?’ Our strategy is to shift the paradigm to which diseases do we want to prevent,” stated Charles H. Jones, PhD, in the UB press release. Jones is a former UB student of Dr. Pfeifer’s, and now, CEO and founder of Abcombi Biosciences Inc. (ABI), a preclinical-stage biotechnology company.
Their research was published in June in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Now that the vaccine’s effectiveness has been successful tested in animals, Abcombi is planning human trials leading to commercialization of the product.
Declining Effectiveness of Vaccines Presents Opportunities for New Therapy
Traditional vaccines have focused on eradicating bacteria and other pathogens before they can colonize inside the body. There is increasing concern among scientists that this approach can generate room for new and potentially more dangerous pathogens to inhabit and flourish inside the body.
Blaine A. Pfeifer, PhD (left), Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Buffalo, and Charles H. Jones, PhD (right), CEO of Abcombi Biosciences, developed a new vaccine that promises to reduce pneumonia infections worldwide saving nearly one million children under the age of five each year. (Image copyright: University of Buffalo.)
In the past, physicians have depended on common antibiotics, such as penicillin, to treat and prevent pneumococcal disease. However, the declining effectiveness of such treatments has created a need for new therapies, such as preventative vaccines.
There are more than 90 strains of streptococcus pneumoniae identified by the scientific community. Currently available vaccines only target the strains that generate the most serious infections. It is possible that the new protein-based vaccination will have the ability to successfully neutralize more strains of pneumococcus, however, more testing is needed.
Pfeifer and Jones also have recently worked with harmless strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) to develop a capsule intended to improve the effectiveness of next-generation vaccinations. The capsule consists of a synthetic polymer wrapped around an E. coli base. The protein-based vaccine is then inserted into the capsule. Testing of the capsule in mice produced impressive results in combating pneumococcal disease.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a significant pathogenic bacterium in humans that is widely acknowledged as a major cause of pneumonia. The bacteria can also produce other infections in humans, such as:
• bronchitis;
• sepsis;
• meningitis;
• endocarditis; and
• cellulitis.
Pneumococcus is typically transferred from one individual to another via contact with an infected person. The areas of the human body that are usually affected by Streptococcus pneumoniae are the respiratory tract, sinuses, and nasal cavity.
Pneumonia Largest Infectious Disease in Children Under Five Worldwide
Pneumococcal disease continues to be a global health dilemma. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumonia was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 922,000 children under the age of five in 2015. It accounts for 15% of all deaths in this age range, making it the largest infectious cause of death in children under five worldwide.
Pneumonia affects people everywhere, but it is more common in children, the elderly, and those living in resource-limited areas. According to the WHO, pneumonia is most prevalent in South Asia and parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
The disease is still pervasive in the United States as well. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that about one million people in the U.S. receive medical treatment for pneumonia each year, and approximately 50,000 of those people die from the disease.
These new vaccine technologies have the potential to greatly reduce the incidence of diseases. Eventually, use of the new vaccines in clinical settings could cause changes in how clinical labs support diagnostic testing, and assist physicians with therapeutic decisions and patient monitoring.
—JP Schlingman
Related Information:
New Immunization Approach May One Day Wipe Out Pneumonia, Meningitis
Vaccine Watches Bacteria, Strikes Only When Trouble Stirs
World Health Organization Fact Sheet on Pneumonia
In Situ Pneumococcal Vaccine Production and Delivery Through a Hybrid Biological-Biomaterial Vector
Directed Vaccination against Pneumococcal Disease
Supporting Information (for Directed Vaccination against Pneumococcal Disease)
Pneumonia Can Be Prevented—Vaccines Can Help
