RESUMO
There is solid epidemiological evidence that arsenic exposure leads to cognitive impairment, while experimental work supports the hypothesis that it also contributes to neurodegeneration. Energy deficit, oxidative stress, demyelination, and defective neurotransmission are demonstrated arsenic effects, but it remains unclear whether synaptic structure is also affected. Employing both a triple-transgenic Alzheimer's disease model and Wistar rats, the cortical microstructure and synapses were analyzed under chronic arsenic exposure. Male animals were studied at 2 and 4 months of age, after exposure to 3 ppm sodium arsenite in drinking water during gestation, lactation, and postnatal development. Through nuclear magnetic resonance, diffusion-weighted images were acquired and anisotropy (integrity; FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (dispersion degree; ADC) metrics were derived. Postsynaptic density protein and synaptophysin were analyzed by means of immunoblot and immunohistochemistry, while dendritic spine density and morphology of cortical pyramidal neurons were quantified after Golgi staining. A structural reorganization of the cortex was evidenced through high-ADC and low-FA values in the exposed group. Similar changes in synaptic protein levels in the 2 models suggest a decreased synaptic connectivity at 4 months of age. An abnormal dendritic arborization was observed at 4 months of age, after increased spine density at 2 months. These findings demonstrate alterations of cortical synaptic connectivity and microstructure associated to arsenic exposure appearing in young rodents and adults, and these subtle and non-adaptive plastic changes in dendritic spines and in synaptic markers may further progress to the degeneration observed at older ages.
Assuntos
Intoxicação por Arsênico/patologia , Córtex Cerebral/efeitos dos fármacos , Sinapses/efeitos dos fármacos , Animais , Intoxicação por Arsênico/diagnóstico por imagem , Western Blotting , Córtex Cerebral/diagnóstico por imagem , Córtex Cerebral/patologia , Imagem de Tensor de Difusão , Feminino , Masculino , Camundongos Transgênicos , Plasticidade Neuronal/efeitos dos fármacos , Ratos , Ratos Wistar , Sinapses/patologiaRESUMO
The development of vaccines is a crucial response against the COVID-19 pandemic and innovative nanovaccines could increase the potential to address this remarkable challenge. In the present study a B cell epitope (S461-493) from the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 was selected and its immunogenicity validated in sheep. This synthetic peptide was coupled to gold nanoparticles (AuNP) functionalized with SH-PEG-NH2 via glutaraldehyde-mediated coupling to obtain the AuNP-S461-493 candidate, which showed in s.c.-immunized mice a superior immunogenicity (IgG responses) when compared to soluble S461-493; and led to increased expression of relevant cytokines in splenocyte cultures. Interestingly, the response triggered by AuNP-S461-493 was similar in magnitude to that induced using a conventional strong adjuvant (Freund's adjuvant). This study provides a platform for the development of AuNP-based nanovaccines targeting specific SARS-CoV-2 epitopes.
Assuntos
Vacinas contra COVID-19 , Epitopos de Linfócito B , Ouro , Imunogenicidade da Vacina , Nanopartículas Metálicas , Peptídeos , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus , Animais , Vacinas contra COVID-19/síntese química , Vacinas contra COVID-19/química , Vacinas contra COVID-19/imunologia , Vacinas contra COVID-19/farmacologia , Epitopos de Linfócito B/química , Epitopos de Linfócito B/imunologia , Epitopos de Linfócito B/farmacologia , Ouro/química , Ouro/farmacologia , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Nanopartículas Metálicas/química , Nanopartículas Metálicas/uso terapêutico , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Peptídeos/síntese química , Peptídeos/química , Peptídeos/imunologia , Peptídeos/farmacologia , Ovinos , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/química , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/imunologia , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/farmacologiaRESUMO
The emergence of new pathogenic viral strains is a constant threat to global health, with the new coronavirus strain COVID-19 as the latest example. COVID-19, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has quickly spread around the globe. This pandemic demands rapid development of drugs and vaccines. Plant-based vaccines are a technology with proven viability, which have led to promising results for candidates evaluated at the clinical level, meaning this technology could contribute towards the fight against COVID-19. Herein, a perspective in how plant-based vaccines can be developed against COVID-19 is presented. Injectable vaccines could be generated by using transient expression systems, which offer the highest protein yields and are already adopted at the industrial level to produce VLPs-vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals under GMPC-processes. Stably-transformed plants are another option, but this approach requires more time for the development of antigen-producing lines. Nonetheless, this approach offers the possibility of developing oral vaccines in which the plant cell could act as the antigen delivery agent. Therefore, this is the most attractive approach in terms of cost, easy delivery, and mucosal immunity induction. The development of multiepitope, rationally-designed vaccines is also discussed regarding the experience gained in expression of chimeric immunogenic proteins in plant systems.
RESUMO
Synucleinopathies are conditions that remain with no available effective treatments thus far. Immunotherapy is a possible path to fight against such pathologies by inducing antibodies against alpha-synuclein (α-Syn), which could induce the clearance of its pathologic form. Looking to develop a new low-cost, effective vaccine against synucleinopathies; we have designed a chimeric plant-made antigen comprising the subunit B of the enterotoxin from enterotoxigenic E. coli and three B cell epitopes from α-Syn, which is named LTB-Syn. In the present study, LTB-Syn was produced in carrot cell lines as appropriate platform for the formulation of oral vaccines not requiring purification. The development of transgenic carrot cell lines took 8 months and the LTB-Syn yield reached 2.3 µg/g dry biomass. The antigen encapsulated in lyophilized carrot cells was highly stable at room temperature over a six-month period and upon heating at 50 °C for 2 h. Moreover, LTB-Syn was able to prime immune responses that, in combination with parenteral boosting using an OVA-Syn conjugate, induced significant humoral resposes in mice. Thus the carrot-made oral LTB-Syn vaccine is a promising candidate that deserves further analyses to advance in its preclinical evaluation.
Assuntos
Daucus carota/química , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas/metabolismo , Sinucleinopatias/prevenção & controle , Vacinas/imunologia , alfa-Sinucleína/imunologia , Animais , Biomassa , Linhagem Celular , Daucus carota/genética , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Enterotoxinas/imunologia , Epitopos de Linfócito B , Escherichia coli/genética , Proteínas de Escherichia coli/genética , Feminino , Imunogenicidade da Vacina/imunologia , Imunoterapia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Plantas Geneticamente Modificadas/genética , Sinucleinopatias/imunologia , Vacinas/economia , alfa-Sinucleína/genéticaRESUMO
MAIN CONCLUSION: A recombinant antigen targeting α-synuclein was produced in the plant cell rendering an immunogenic protein capable to induce humoral responses in mice upon oral administration. Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein (α-Syn, a 140 amino acid protein that normally plays various neurophysiologic roles) aggregates. Parkinson's disease (PD) is the synucleinopathy with the highest epidemiologic impact and although its etiology remains unknown, α-Syn aggregation during disease progression pointed out α-Syn as target in the development of immunotherapies. Herein a chimeric protein, comprising the B subunit of the enterotoxin from enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and α-Syn epitopes, was expressed in the plant cell having the potential to induce humoral responses following oral immunization. This approach will serve as the basis for the development of oral plant-based vaccines against PD with several potential advantages such as low cost, easy scale-up during production, and easy administration.