An Efficient UV-C Disinfection Approach and Biological Assessment Strategy for Microphones

Featured Application Disinfection of microphones by using UV-C to be applied in the entertainment industry to prevent infections as a consequence of microphone sharing between individuals. Hygiene is a basic necessity to prevent infections, and though it is regarded as vital in general, its importance has been stressed again during the pandemic. Microbes may spread through touch and aerosols and thereby find their way from host to host. Cleaning and disinfection of possibly contaminated surfaces prevents microbial spread, thus reducing potential illnesses. One item that is used by several people in a way that promotes close contact by touch and aerosol formation is the microphone. A microphone is a complex piece of equipment with respect to shape and various materials used to fabricate it and, hence, its disinfection is challenging. A new device has been developed to efficiently sterilize microphones by using UV-C and a biological assessment has been done to identify its efficacy and translatability. For this investigation, a contamination procedure was developed by using M13 bacteriophage as a model to illustrate the effectiveness of the disinfection. The susceptibility to UV-C irradiation of M13 in solution was compared to that of the PR8 H1N1 influenza virus, which has a similar UV-C susceptibility as SARS-CoV-2. It was found that 10 min of UV-C treatment reduced the percentage of infectious M13 by 99.3% based on whole microphone inoculation and disinfection. UV-C susceptibility of M13 and influenza in suspension were found to be very similar, indicating that the microphone sterilization method and device function are highly useful and broadly applicable

Innate responses induced by whole inactivated virus or subunit influenza vaccines in cultured dendritic cells correlate with immune responses in vivo

Vaccine development involves time-consuming and expensive evaluation of candidate vaccines in animal models. As mediators of both innate and adaptive immune responses dendritic cells (DCs) are considered to be highly important for vaccine performance. Here we evaluated how far the response of DCs to a vaccine in vitro is in line with the immune response the vaccine evokes in vivo. To this end, we investigated the response of murine bone marrow-derived DCs to whole inactivated virus (WIV) and subunit (SU) influenza vaccine preparations. These vaccine preparations were chosen because they differ in the immune response they evoke in mice with WIV being superior to SU vaccine through induction of higher virus-neutralizing antibody titers and a more favorable Th1-skewed response phenotype. Stimulation of DCs with WIV, but not SU vaccine, resulted in a cytokine response that was comparable to that of DCs stimulated with live virus. Similarly, the gene expression profiles of DCs treated with WIV or live virus were similar and differed from that of SU vaccine-treated DCs. More specifically, exposure of DCs to WIV resulted in differential expression of genes in known antiviral pathways, whereas SU vaccine did not. The stronger antiviral and more Th1-related response of DCs to WIV as compared to SU vaccine correlates well with the superior immune response found in mice. These results indicate that in vitro stimulation of DCs with novel vaccine candidates combined with the assessment of multiple parameters, including gene signatures, may be a valuable tool for the selection of vaccine candidates

Adjuvantation of Pulmonary-Administered Influenza Vaccine with GPI-0100 Primarily Stimulates Antibody Production and Memory B Cell Proliferation

Adjuvants are key components in vaccines, they help in reducing the required antigen dose but also modulate the phenotype of the induced immune response. We previously showed that GPI-0100, a saponin-derived adjuvant, enhances antigen-specific mucosal and systemic antibody responses to influenza subunit and whole inactivated influenza virus (WIV) vaccine administered via the pulmonary route. However, the impact of the GPI-0100 dose on immune stimulation and the immune mechanisms stimulated by GPI-0100 along with antigen are poorly understood. Therefore, in this study we immunized C57BL/6 mice via the pulmonary route with vaccine consisting of WIV combined with increasing amounts of GPI-0100, formulated as a dry powder. Adjuvantation of WIV enhanced influenza-specific mucosal and systemic immune responses, with intermediate doses of 5 and 7.5 μg GPI-0100 being most effective. The predominant antibody subtype induced by GPI-0100-adjuvanted vaccine was IgG1. Compared to non-adjuvanted vaccine, GPI-0100-adjuvanted WIV vaccine gave rise to higher numbers of antigen-specific IgA- but not IgG-producing B cells in the lungs along with better mucosal and systemic memory B cell responses. The GPI-0100 dose was negatively correlated with the number of influenza-specific IFNγ- and IL17-producing T cells and positively correlated with the number of IL4-producing T cells observed after immunization and challenge. Overall, our results show that adjuvantation of pulmonary-delivered WIV with GPI-0100 mostly affects B cell responses and effectively induces B cell memory

Prolonging the delivery of influenza virus vaccine improves the quantity and quality of the induced immune responses in mice

IntroductionInfluenza vaccines play a vital role in protecting individuals from influenza virus infection and severe illness. However, current influenza vaccines have suboptimal efficacy, which is further reduced in cases where the vaccine strains do not match the circulating strains. One strategy to enhance the efficacy of influenza vaccines is by extended antigen delivery, thereby mimicking the antigen kinetics of a natural infection. Prolonging antigen availability was shown to quantitatively enhance influenza virus-specific immune responses but how it affects the quality of the induced immune response is unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate whether prolongation of the delivery of influenza vaccine improves the quality of the induced immune responses over that induced by prime-boost immunization.MethodsMice were given daily doses of whole inactivated influenza virus vaccine for periods of 14, 21, or 28 days; the control group received prime-boost immunization with a 28 days interval.ResultsOur data show that the highest levels of cellular and humoral immune responses were induced by 28 days of extended antigen delivery, followed by 21, and 14 days of delivery, and prime-boost immunization. Moreover, prolonging vaccine delivery also improved the quality of the induced antibody response, as indicated by higher level of high avidity antibodies, a balanced IgG subclass profile, and a higher level of cross-reactive antibodies.ConclusionsOur findings contribute to a better understanding of the immune response to influenza vaccination and have important implications for the design and development of future slow-release influenza vaccines

The effect of pre-existing immunity on the capacity of influenza virosomes to induce cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity

Protein antigens encapsulated in virosomes generated from influenza virus can induce antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses. In the present study we determined, in a murine model system, whether pre-existing immunity against influenza virus hampers the induction of a CTL response. CTL induction was only slightly reduced by pre-injection of influenza virus-specific antibodies or pre-exposure to influenza virus. Both pre-treatments resulted in the same level of reduction, suggesting that virus-specific antibodies rather than T cell responses account for the reduction. Furthermore, a booster immunization enhanced CTL activation, indicating that virosome-specific immunity induced by a prime immunization does not hamper the booster effect. In conclusion, CTL induction against virosome-encapsulated protein antigens is not significantly inhibited by pre-existing humoral or cellular immunity against influenza virus. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Une solution à la salinité

La production agricole souffre de plus en plus de la salinité de l’eau dans des pays ACP. La moitié des ressources en eaux souterraines de la planète est déjà saline et cette salinité limite la production sur presque la moitié des terres irriguées dans le monde. Les problèmes liés à la salinité ne peuvent que croître, même s’ils ne concernent aujourd’hui qu’une petite partie des terres cultivées. Certaines zones sont plus affectées que d’autres au sein des pays ACP et au-delà. Les problèmes les plus aigus sont désormais traités par le Centre d’agriculture bio saline (BAC), établi à Dubaï. Ce centre, opérationnel depuis fin 1999, met progressivement en place son réseau pour les quatre années à venir. Il a démarré avec un objectif régional ('le Golfe et d’autres régions du monde islamique') et entend élargir son champ pendant cette période. Son activité de base se concentre sur le développement de systèmes de gestion durable pour l’irrigation des cultures fourragères et vivrières ou des espaces verts avec de l’eau saline, la fourniture d’informations sur les plantes tolérantes au sel, la formation et l’information sur l’agriculture irriguée par eau saline et les technologies associées. Ces activités s’appliqueront aux terres côtières et marginales. Cette focalisation géographique implique que les utilisateurs potentiels d’autres zones devront pour le moment se limiter à observer et noter le travail accompli par le centre à défaut d’un partenariat actif et concret. Reconnaissons toutefois que l’étendue du champ de recherche et de développement du centre et sa force institutionnelle justifient à elles seules l’intérêt de suivre son travail et — sur cette base — de repérer des secteurs où des liens peuvent être tissés. Le Centre publie une lettre d’information trois fois par an et il entend devenir un carrefour d’échanges d’informations et d’expériences entre les populations et les institutions qui travaillent dans l’agriculture saline. Biosaline Agriculture Centre PO Box 14660 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Fax : 971 4 336 1155 Email : [email protected] production agricole souffre de plus en plus de la salinité de l’eau dans des pays ACP. La moitié des ressources en eaux souterraines de la planète est déjà saline et cette salinité limite la production sur presque la moitié des terres..

DataSheet_1_Prolonging the delivery of influenza virus vaccine improves the quantity and quality of the induced immune responses in mice.docx

IntroductionInfluenza vaccines play a vital role in protecting individuals from influenza virus infection and severe illness. However, current influenza vaccines have suboptimal efficacy, which is further reduced in cases where the vaccine strains do not match the circulating strains. One strategy to enhance the efficacy of influenza vaccines is by extended antigen delivery, thereby mimicking the antigen kinetics of a natural infection. Prolonging antigen availability was shown to quantitatively enhance influenza virus-specific immune responses but how it affects the quality of the induced immune response is unknown. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate whether prolongation of the delivery of influenza vaccine improves the quality of the induced immune responses over that induced by prime-boost immunization.MethodsMice were given daily doses of whole inactivated influenza virus vaccine for periods of 14, 21, or 28 days; the control group received prime-boost immunization with a 28 days interval.ResultsOur data show that the highest levels of cellular and humoral immune responses were induced by 28 days of extended antigen delivery, followed by 21, and 14 days of delivery, and prime-boost immunization. Moreover, prolonging vaccine delivery also improved the quality of the induced antibody response, as indicated by higher level of high avidity antibodies, a balanced IgG subclass profile, and a higher level of cross-reactive antibodies.ConclusionsOur findings contribute to a better understanding of the immune response to influenza vaccination and have important implications for the design and development of future slow-release influenza vaccines.</p

Enhancement of the Immunogenicity and Protective Efficacy of a Mucosal Influenza Subunit Vaccine by the Saponin Adjuvant GPI-0100

Identification of safe and effective adjuvants remains an urgent need for the development of inactivated influenza vaccines for mucosal administration. Here, we used a murine challenge model to evaluate the adjuvant activity of GPI-0100, a saponin-derived adjuvant, on influenza subunit vaccine administered via the intranasal or the intrapulmonary route. Balb/c mice were immunized with 1 mu g A/PR/8 (H1N1) subunit antigen alone or in combination with varying doses of GPI-0100. The addition of GPI-0100 was required for induction of mucosal and systemic antibody responses to intranasally administered influenza vaccine and significantly enhanced the immunogenicity of vaccine administered via the intrapulmonary route. Remarkably, GPI-0100-adjuvanted influenza vaccine given at a low dose of 2x1 mu g either in the nares or directly into the lungs provided complete protection against homologous influenza virus infection