Synthetic Efforts Towards Glycoconjugate-Based Vaccines Active Against Anthrax

Anthrax is an infectious disease associated with a high death rate in the absence of treatment. To be effective, antibiotics must be administered early after infection and during a prolonged period, therefore, designing vaccines is a valuable alternative. With the currently marketed anthrax vaccines being considered less than optimal, the development of novel formulations is strongly encouraged by health and government authorities. Along this line the recent disclosure of the structure of several oligosaccharides expressed at the surface of Bacillus anthracis, the etiological agent of anthrax, has boosted the development of a glycoconjugate-based vaccine. This review describes the different strategies which have been envisaged to prepare these carbohydrate antigens as well as analogs thereof. The data on antigenicity and immunology generated by these derivatives are also detailed. Finally, future prospects on the development of anthrax glycoconjugate vaccines are discussed.