T cell‐mediated autoimmune skin diseases develop as a result of the aberrant immune response to the skin cells with T cells playing a central role. These chronic inflammatory skin diseases encompass various types including psoriasis, lichen planus and vitiligo. These diseases show similarities in their immune‐pathophysiology. In the last decade, immunomodulating agents have been very successful in the management of these diseases thanks to a better understanding of the pathophysiology. In this review, we will discuss the immunopathogenic mechanisms and highlight the role of T lymphocytes in psoriasis, lichen planus and vitiligo. This study could provide new insights into a better understanding of targeted therapeutic pathways and biological therapies.

The current health crisis caused by coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) and associated pathogens emphasize the urgent need for vaccine systems that can generate protective and long-lasting immune responses. Vaccination, employing peptides, nucleic acids, and other molecules, or using pathogen-based strategies, in fact, is one of the most potent approaches in the management of viral diseases. However, the vaccine candidate requires protection from degradation and precise delivery to the target cells. This can be achieved by employing different types of drug and vaccine delivery strategies, among which, nanotechnology-based systems seem to be more promising. This entry aims to provide insight into major aspects of vaccine design and formulation to address different diseases, including the recent outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. Special emphasis of this review is on the technical and practical aspects of vaccine construction and theranostic approaches to precisely target and localize the active compounds.

No abstract

Ebola drug discovery continues to be challenging as yet. Proteins of the virus should be targeted at the relevant biologically active site for drug or inhibitor binding to be effective. In this regard, by considering the important role of Ebola virus proteins in the viral mechanisms of this viral disease, the Ebola proteins are selected as our drug targets in this study. The discovery of novel therapeutic molecules or peptides will be highly expensive; therefore, we attempted to identify possible antigens of EBOV proteins by conducting docking-based screening of cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) that have antiviral potential features utilizing Hex software version 8.0.0. The E-value scores obtained in this research were very much higher than the previously reported docking studies. CPPs that possess suitable interaction with the targets would be specified as promising candidates for further in vitro and in vivo examination aimed at developing new drugs for Ebola infection treatment.

With more than two years in COVID-19 pandemic, the underlying virus is mutating which indicates it is not over yet hence SARS-CoV-2 Spike RBD is a potent candidate for immunological development purposes. Here, we produced a recombinant-RBD protein from micro- to macro-scale production by Pichia pastoris with high purity that was assessed by immunological tests. A recombinant-RBD compromising 283 residues (31kDa) was constructed after epitope analyses. The target gene was initially cloned into Escherichia coli Top10 genotype and transformed into Pichia pastoris CBS7435 muts for protein production. The production was scaled-up in a 10L fermenter after 1L shake-flask cultivation. The product was ultrafiltered and purified using ION-Exchange chromatography. IgG-positive human sera for SARS-CoV-2 were employed by ELISA test to evaluate the antigenicity and specific binding of the produced protein. Bioreactor cultivation yielded 4g/L of target protein after 160 hours fermentation, and ion-exchange chromatography indicated a purity of > 95%. Human serum ELISA test performed in four parts (1–4) and ROC curve area under curve (AUC) was > 0.96 for each part. The mean specificity and sensitivity of each part was (100, 91.5) respectively. In conclusion, the recombinant-RBD can be used for IgG-based serologic kit and preventive purposes for patients with COVID-19 infection.