Reassortment of high-yield influenza viruses in vero cells and safety assessment as candidate vaccine strains

Vaccination is the practiced and accessible measure for preventing influenza infection. Because chicken embryos used for vaccine production have various insufficiencies, more efficient methods are needed. African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a safe substitute for influenza vaccine production for humans. However, the influenza virus usually had low-yield in Vero cells, which limits the usage of Vero cellular vaccines. This study used 2 high-yield influenza viruses in Vero cells: A/Yunnan/1/2005Va (H3N2) and B/Yunnan/2/2005Va (B) as donor viruses. It used 3 wild strain viruses to reassort new adaptation viruses, including: A/Tianjin/15/2009(H1N1), A/Fujian/196/2009(H3N2), and B/Chongqing/1384/2010(B). These three new viruses could maintain the characteristic of high-yield in Vero cells. Furthermore, they could keep the immunogenic characteristics of the original wild influenza viruses. Importantly, these viruses were shown as safe in chicken embryo and guinea pigs assessment systems. These results provide an alternative method to produce influenza vaccine based on Vero cells

Immunogenicity and Safety of Pandemic Influenza H5N1 Vaccines in Healthy Adults through Meta-Analysis

Background: There are sporadic cases and local outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza virus worldwide every year. The World Health Organization (WHO) has paid close attention to the avian influenza epidemic trend. Avian influenza vaccines (AIV) are considered to be useful when an epidemic occurs. However, the use of AIV for humans is not yet widespread. Methods: This study assessed the immunogenicity and safety of pandemic influenza H5N1 vaccines with inactivated whole virus, split virus and subunit virus vaccines for healthy adults. We searched the databases of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, Excerpata Medica Database (EMBASE) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The data from randomized trials regarding the immunogenicity and safety of AIV with or without different types of adjuvants for healthy adults (with an age range from 18 to 60 years) were collected. Results: According to this study, the most effective doses of H5N1 AIV ranged from 3.75 µg to 7.5 µg Hemagglutinin (HA) antigen. Aluminium adjuvants were administered with the same vaccine dose as a no-adjuvant group and induced the same immune effects. However, novel adjuvants (MF59 and AS03) were used with a smaller dose of vaccine than the no-adjuvant groups and successfully stimulated the body to produce more effective antibodies. Conclusion: All of the H5N1 AIV surveyed in this study were well tolerated without serious adverse reactions

COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine T cell epitope prediction analysis based on distributions of HLA class I loci (HLA-A, -B, -C) across global populations

T cell immunity, such as CD4 and/or CD8 T cell responses, plays a vital role in controlling the virus infection and pathological damage. Several studies have reported SARS-CoV-2 proteins could serve as ideal vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2 infection by activating the T cell responses. In the current study, based on the SARS-CoV-2 sequence and distribution of host human leukocyte antigen (HLA), we predicted the possible epitopes for the vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infections. Firstly, the current study retrieved the SARS-CoV-2 S and N protein sequences from the NCBI Database. Then, using the Immune Epitope Database Analysis Resource, we predicted the CTL epitopes of the SARS-CoV-2 S and N proteins according to worldwide frequency distributions of HLA-A, -B, and -C alleles (>1%). Our results predicted 90 and 106 epitopes of N and S proteins, respectively. Epitope cluster analysis showed 16 and 34 respective clusters of SARS-CoV-2 N and S proteins, which covered 95.91% and 96.14% of the global population, respectively. After epitope conservancy analysis, 8 N protein epitopes and 6 S protein epitopes showed conservancy within two SARS-CoV-2 types. Of these 14 epitopes, 13 could cover SARS coronavirus and Bat SARS-like coronavirus. The remaining epitope (KWPWYIWLGF1211-1220) could cover MERS coronavirus. Finally, the 14-epitope combination could vaccinate 89.60% of all individuals worldwide. Our results propose single or combined CTL epitopes predicted in the current study as candidates for vaccines to effectively control SARS-CoV-2 infection and development

Chinese University Students’ Perspectives on Help-Seeking and Mental Health Counseling

Psychological distress and mental illness have become increasingly pervasive among Chinese university students. However, many university students who need mental health treatment or psychological support do not actively seek help from professional counselors or service providers, which could lead to poor mental health outcomes. To promote help-seeking, we undertook a qualitative study to understand Chinese university students’ perspectives on help-seeking and mental health counseling. We conducted 13 focus group interviews with students in six universities in Jinan, China, and altogether 91 (62%) female students, and 56 (38%) male students participated in the study. Our results indicate that students’ misconception and distrust of on-campus counseling, stigma of mental illness, low mental health literacy, and hard-to-access mental health services are the major barriers that impede students help-seeking behaviors. Internal struggles and systematic and organizational barriers are identified to shed light on future work to promote mental health literacy among Chinese university students.Applied Science, Faculty ofNon UBCNursing, School ofReviewedFacultyResearche