The topic of vaccination has been extremely popular in the news lately as the search for a coronavirus vaccine rages on. In addition, as children prepare for school to begin, vaccinations are often top of mind, and for that reason, August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Although many people have become skeptical of vaccine safety in the last two decades, they remain the safest and most effective way to prevent the spread of infectious disease.
All FDA approved medications, vaccinations included, can have side effects. The most common side effect associated with vaccines is soreness of the injection site, and in most cases, side effects are mild.1 Patients rarely experience severe or long-term side effects from vaccines.1 Today, vaccines can prevent 26 different diseases in addition to reducing antibiotic resistance by removing the need to treat disease.2 In fact, most vaccines have resulted in case decreases of 97% or higher.3
Although vaccines are proven, powerful tools to prevent disease, they have become controversial due to the circulation of misinformation regarding their safety. The measles vaccine is frequently discussed by skeptics as they believe it may cause autism. Despite skepticism, by 2017 the number of global measles cases had been reduced by over 99% (compared to pre-vaccine numbers), almost wiping out one of the most contagious diseases in the world.3,4 In addition, scientific studies have shown no link between autism and vaccines, regardless of when they are administered.5
Solutions & Publications
Vaccines are critical to the prevention of disease, and the brands of Harvard Bioscience are proud to support vaccine development. The following sections provide an overview of solutions offered to enhance this essential research.
Sample Preparation
QuickPrep tools remove impurities that interfere, or are not compatible, in downstream analysis of samples through dialysis, chromatography, or filtration.
Electrophoresis
Hoefer and Scie-Plas electrophoresis solutions allow you to separate charged molecules, such as DNA, according to size.
A collaboration led by researchers at the Karolinska Institut used the Hoefer electrophoresis system to separate proteins supporting their evaluation of the live attenuated BPZE1 vaccine candidate. View the full publication.6
Electroporation
BTX’s AgilePulse in vivo system enhances DNA and RNA vaccination efficiency in animal models. The Gemini X2 system is used to transform and transfect in pathogen model research, including CRISPR, in vivo, in vitro, in ovo and more.
A collaboration of researchers from Invectys, Bertin Pharma, Eiffelvet, and Institut Pasteur assessed a potential immunotherapy vaccine for canine cancer and used the AgilePulse system to perform Electro-Gene-Transfer. View the full publication.7
Infusion and Injection
Target specific structures or inject DNA/mRNA with a wide range of precision syringe pumps and microinjectors from Harvard Apparatus and Warner Instruments.
Harvard Apparatus syringe pumps were used in a 2019 study aimed at optimizing hyaluronan-based dissolving microneedles with high antigen content for intradermal vaccination. View the full publication here.8
Microplate Readers
Biochrom’s EZ Read solutions are designed specifically for ELISA, protein, and cell proliferation assays. Complement high throughput assays using Biochrom Atlantis Microplate Washers.
Researchers from Kyung Hee University in South Korea used EZ Read microplate reader to assess colorimetric changes in their study evaluating efficacy of an oral influenza vaccine. View the full publication.9
Spectrophotometry
Biochrom’s spectrophotometers are used in determining the absorbance and concentration of a vaccine by passing different light waves through a solution.
In their evaluation of a vaccine candidate using a recombinant chimera protein for Brucellosis, a research team from Iran used Biochrom’s spectrophotometry solution to measure the concentration of the purified protein. View the full publication here.10
Perform quantification of DNA, RNA, Oligonucleotides, and Proteins via standard absorbance as well as fluorescent dye labelling with BioDrop Micro-volume Spectrophotometers.
A collaboration led by researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona used BioDrop’s spectrophotometer to quantify purified plasmid DNA as they evaluated the ability of a DNA vaccine for influenza to produce an immune response. View the full publication here.11
Physiological Analysis
DSI’s physiologic monitoring tools enable you to assess physiologic changes after a vaccination has been administered. They also play a critical role in safety and efficacy testing required before administration in humans. Implantable telemetry is required in all safety pharmacology studies. PhysioTel™ telemetry enables collection of endpoints including blood pressure, ECG, EEG, blood glucose, respiration, temperature, and more from conscious, freely moving animals ranging in size from mouse to primate. Buxco® respiratory solutions enable collection of endpoints such as minute volume, tidal volume, respiratory flow, respiratory rate, resistance, compliance, and more.
Researchers from the University of Zurich used DSI telemetry and software solutions to measure ECG, heart rate, heart rate variability, temperature, and activity data from mice in their effort to create a screening method for vaccine reactogenicity. View the full publication here.12
In their investigation of memory CD8 T cells as a method to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), researchers used DSI’s Buxco whole body plethysmography (WBP) system to evaluate the impact on the respiratory system. View the full publication here.13
Let’s chat!
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References
1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). “Six Things YOU Need to Know About Vaccines”. National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/vaxwithme.html
2World Health Organization. (2020). “#VaccinesWork to Save Lives”. https://www.who.int/campaigns/immunization-week/2017/infographic-save-lives.jpg?ua=1
3Immunization Action Coalition. (2017). “Vaccines Work!”. Centers for Disease Control. https://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4037.pdf
4Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). “Measles & Rubella Move Fast Infographic”. Global Health. https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/immunization/infographic/measles.htm
5Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). “Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism”. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html
6Lin A, Apostolovic D, Jahnmatz M, et. al. (2020). “Live attenuated pertussis vaccine BPZE1 induces a broad antibody response in humans”. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI135020
7Thalmensi J, Pliquet E,Liard C, et. al. (2019). “A DNA telomerase vaccine for canine cancer immunotherapy”. Oncotarget, 10:3361-3372. https://dx.doi.org/10.18632%2Foncotarget.26927
8Leone M, Priester MI, Romeijn S, et. al. (2019). “Hyaluronan-based dissolving microneedles with high antigen content for intradermal vaccination: Formulation, physicochemical characterization and immunogenicity assessment”. European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 134:49-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpb.2018.11.013
9Basak S, Kang HJ, Lee SH, Chu KB, Moon EK, Quan FS. (2020). “Influenza vaccine efficacy induced by orally administered recombinant baculoviruses”. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233520
10Abdollahi A, Mansouri S, Amani J, Fasihi-Ramandi M, Ranjbar R, Ghasemi A, Moradi M. (2017).” A Recombinant Chimera Protein as a Novel Brucella Subunit Vaccine: Protective Efficacy and Induced Immune Response in BALB/c Mice”. Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology, 11(1):e12776. https://doi.org/10.5812/jjm.12776
11Sistere-Oro M, Lopez-Serrano S, Veljkovic V, et. al. (2019). “DNA vaccine based on conserved HA-peptides induces strong immune response and rapidly clears influenza virus infection from vaccinated pigs”. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222201
12Arras M, Glauser DL, Jirkof P, et. al. (2012). “Multiparameter Telemetry as a Sensitive Screening Method to Detect Vaccine Reactogenicity in Mice”. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0029726
13Schmidt ME, Knudson CJ, Hartwig SM, et. al. (2018). “Memory CD8 T cells mediate severe immunopathology following respiratory syncytial virus infection”. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1006810