Faculty Articles
Vaccine candidates in STD.
Publication Title
International journal of STD & AIDS
ISSN
0956-4624
Publication Date
12-1-2002
Keywords
antigen selection, bacterial vaccines, chlamydia trachomatis, dna vaccines, gonorrhea, haemophilus ducreyi, herpes simplex virus type 2, hiv prevention, human papillomavirus, immunogenicity, mucosal immunity, neisseria gonorrhoeae, public health, sexually transmitted diseases, std vaccines, subunit vaccines, treponema pallidum, vaccine development, vaccine manufacturing, viral vaccines
Abstract
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are caused by organisms that infect the mucosal surfaces of the genitourinary tract. In spite of its public health importance, current STD vaccine research lags behind work against pathogens that target another mucosal region, the respiratory tract. In the latter case, live-attenuated viral vaccines, killed whole-cell bacterial vaccines, subunit/protein bacterial vaccines, and bacterial polysaccharide vaccines have been enormously successful. To move STD vaccine research forward, complex issues must be resolved. Those include selection of an appropriate antigen (e.g. scientific feasibility and intellectual property rights), the manufacture of the vaccine (e.g. delivery systems, formulation processes, and production steps), and the appropriate public health approach (e.g. medical indications and marketing aspects). Particular scientific problems have delayed STD vaccine development, like incomplete attenuation (human herpes simplex virus type 2), accentuated immunopathology (Chlamydia trachomatis), poor immunogenicity (Treponema pallidum), and broad antigenic heterogeneity (Neisseria gonorrhoeae). Nevertheless, efforts continue with the use of protein antigens: for example, the haemolysin toxoid of Haemophilus ducreyi; the major outer membrane protein(s) of N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis; the glycoprotein D of human herpes simplex virus type 2; and the proteins E6 and E7 of human papilloma virus. It may be predicted that eventual STD vaccines (administered either for prophylaxis or for therapy) will use approaches that include (1) live-attenuated viruses, (2) subunit proteins or inactivated whole organisms given with mucosal adjuvants or with cellular immune response adjuvants, and (3) DNA plasmids expressing the vaccine antigen.
DOI
10.1258/095646202762226155
Volume
13 Suppl 2
First Page
38
Last Page
41
Disciplines
Medical Specialties | Medicine and Health Sciences | Osteopathic Medicine and Osteopathy
NSUWorks Citation
Fletcher, Mary A., "Vaccine candidates in STD." (2002). Faculty Articles. 1450.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_com_faculty_articles/1450
