Leishmania donovani, which is responsible for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), poses severe public health challenges, necessitating novel strategies to decrease its incidence. The epitopes predicted with immune informatics tools provide the opportunity for the development of a good vaccine candidate. The immunogenicity of sand fly salivary proteins SP02, SP12, SP13, SP14, SP15, SP19, and SP56 and known Leishmania MHC class I and class II epitopes was evaluated. Among the sand fly salivary proteins the most prominent ten B cell epitopes based on their immunogenicity, stability and safety were derived from these proteins. Two remarkable vaccination candidates that were considered safe, SP14 and SP15, were "LPTILAHSPAGASVNQ" (1.244) and "RLLIKDYVVTRKVVKD" (1.178), respectively. These T cell epitopes included thirteen verified MHC I and six MHC class II epitopes. All known immunodominant epitopes were used in the vaccine build together with possible linkers and an adjuvant at the N-terminus to improve immunogenicity. The proposed vaccine was extensively tested to establish its stability, non-allergic reaction, and nontoxicity, all of which were confirmed.The vaccine construct's stable interaction with TLR4 highlighted important hydrogen bonds necessary for stable receptor engagement. Indicative of a robust Th1 response, immune simulations showed an elivated IgG and IgM titers, substantial helper and cytotoxic T-cell responses, and elevated levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-12, further supporting the vaccine construct's potential as a promising candidate for leishmaniasis control. However, experimental validations will determine its potential as an effective vaccine candidate.

2023-10-25·ACS applied materials & interfaces

High-Energy Composite Fuels with Improved Combustion Efficiency by Using AlH₃ Embedded with Al Particles.

Article

作者: Xie, Wu-Xi ; Nie, Hong-Qi ; Yu, Ming-Hui ; Li, Ya-Jin ; Yan, Qi-Long ; Xu, RuiXuan

Aluminum hydride (AlH₃) has attracted much attention due to its potential to replace aluminum (Al) as a novel energetic material in solid propellants. In this research, ammonium perchlorate (AP) and perfluoropolyether (PFPE) as functionalized coatings and a combination of acoustic resonance and spray drying technology have been employed to prepare AlH₃@Al@AP (AHAPs) and AlH₃@Al@AP@PFPE (AHAPs-F) energetic composite particles. The formulations of composite propellants and modified AlH₃ particles were designed and fabricated. Their thermal reactivity, reaction heat, density, vacuum stability, combustion performance, and condensed combustion products (CCPs) have been systematically investigated. The results show that the solid propellants containing AHAPs (SP13) and AHAPs-F (SP14) composites can significantly enhance the reactivity and energy output compared to conventional solid propellants with the mechanical mixture Al/AlH₃ (SP12). In particular, the total heat releases of SP13 and SP14 are almost 1.2 and 1.7 times higher than those of conventional ones (SP12, 1442 J g^-1), respectively. Among the AlH₃-based propellants, SP14 propellants exhibit the highest reaction heat of 5887 J g^-1, the most intensive flame radiation of 31.4 × 10³, and the highest combustion wave temperature of 2495 °C. Moreover, the particle size distribution of CCPs from SP14 propellants is much narrower and smaller than that of SP12, resulting in higher combustion efficiency.

2015-06-03·Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics3区 · 医学

Conserved epitopes on HIV-1, FIV and SIV p24 proteins are recognized by HIV-1 infected subjects

3区 · 医学

Article

作者: Missa P Sanou ; Shannon R Roff ; Jay A Levy ; Janet K Yamamoto ; Mobeen H Rathore

Cross-reactive peptides on HIV-1 and FIV p24 protein sequences were studied using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from untreated HIV-1-infected long-term survivors (LTS; >10 y of infection without antiretroviral therapy, ART), short-term HIV-1 infected subjects not on ART, and ART-treated HIV-1 infected subjects. IFNγ-ELISpot and CFSE-proliferation analyses were performed with PBMC using overlapping HIV-1 and FIV p24 peptides. Over half of the HIV-1 infected subjects tested (22/31 or 71%) responded to one or more FIV p24 peptide pools by either IFNγ or T-cell proliferation analysis. PBMC and T cells from infected subjects in all 3 HIV(+) groups predominantly recognized one FIV p24 peptide pool (Fp14) by IFNγ production and one additional FIV p24 peptide pool (Fp9) by T-cell proliferation analysis. Furthermore, evaluation of overlapping SIV p24 peptide sequences identified conserved epitope(s) on the Fp14/Hp15-counterpart of SIV, Sp14, but none on Fp9-counterpart of SIV, Sp9. The responses to these FIV peptide pools were highly reproducible and persisted throughout 2-4 y of monitoring. Intracellular staining analysis for cytotoxins and phenotyping for CD107a determined that peptide epitopes from Fp9 and Fp14 pools induced cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated molecules including perforin, granzyme B, granzyme A, and/or expression of CD107a. Selected FIV and corresponding SIV epitopes recognized by HIV-1 infected patients indicate that these protein sequences are evolutionarily conserved on both SIV and HIV-1 (e.g., Hp15:Fp14:Sp14). These studies demonstrate that comparative immunogenicity analysis of HIV-1, FIV, and SIV can identify evolutionarily-conserved T cell-associated lentiviral epitopes, which could be used as a vaccine for prophylaxis or immunotherapy.

100 项与 SP-14 相关的药物交易

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