Current Drug Targets - Volume 5, Issue 1, 2004

After clean water and good hygiene, vaccines are one of the most cost effective methods for improving public health. Vaccines can be used prophylactically and / or therapeutically in the treatment of infectious diseases as well as some cancers and also demonstrate potential in the treatment of autoimmune disorders. The requirements of regulatory authorities, however, demand that modern vaccines are rationally Read More

Antigenic epitopes are the part (contact points) of an antigen involved in specific interaction with the antigen-binding site (the paratope) of an antibody or a T-cell receptor. Detailed analysis of epitopes is important both for the understanding of immunological events and for the development of more effective vaccine and diagnostic tools for various diseases. Identification and characterization of epitopes is a com Read More

Despite rapid advances in cancer therapeutics, relapsed disease due to failed immunosurveillance remains a major problem in many cancers. Dendritic cells are recognized as key to the induction of immune responses to cancer and intensive study is underway to facilitate their use in cancer immunotherapy. In initial clinical trials, dendritic cell preparations were, with the benefit of hindsight, largely sub-optimal, yet enc Read More

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) accounts for the majority of cases of transfusion acquired hepatitis and hepatitis transmitted by injecting drug use. The patients who do not clear the infection become chronic carriers of HCV and form a reservoir of infection within human populations. Furthermore, these carriers are at serious risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma. The disease is of major concern in de Read More

Group A streptococcus (GAS) is responsible for a number of diseases ranging from uncomplicated pharyngitis through to life-treating invasive and post-infectious diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis and rheumatic heart disease. GAS associated diseases occur globally and are serious problems in many developing nations and indigenous populations of many developed nations. This, and the resurgence in industrialized countries, Read More

The HIV / AIDS pandemic is a global emergency and a preventive HIV vaccine is urgently needed. HIV has, however, proved a difficult pathogen to vaccinate against. This is largely because HIV has a very high mutation rate and can escape immune responses, it has a latent stage where it can rest silently integrated into host DNA, and neutralising antibodies that can neutralise diverse field strains have so far proved difficult to in Read More

Vaccines have been described as “weapons of mass protection”. The eradication of many diseases is testament to their utility and effectiveness. Nevertheless, many vaccine preventable diseases remain prevalent because of political and economic barriers. Additionally, the effects of immaturity and old age, therapies that incapacitate the adaptive immune system and the multitude of strategies evolved by pathogens t Read More