Aspects of Phage-Based Vaccines for Protein and Epitope Immunization

Abstract

Because vaccine development is a difficult process, this study reviews aspects of phages as vaccine delivery vehicles through a literature search. The results demonstrated that because phages have adjuvant properties and are safe for humans and animals, they are an excellent vaccine tool for protein and epitope immunization. The phage genome can easily be manipulated to display antigens or create DNA vaccines. Additionally, they are easy to produce on a large scale, which lowers their manufacturing costs. They are stable under various conditions, which can facilitate their transport and storage. However, no medicine regulatory agency has yet authorized phage-based vaccines despite the considerable preclinical data confirming their benefits. The skeptical perspective of phages should be overcome because humans encounter bacteriophages in their environment all the time without suffering adverse effects. The lack of clinical trials, endotoxin contamination, phage composition, and long-term negative effects are some obstacles preventing the development of phage vaccines. However, their prospects should be promising because phages are safe in clinical trials; they have been authorized as a food additive to avoid food contamination and approved for emergency use in phage therapy against difficult-to-treat antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Therefore, this encourages the use of phages in vaccines.

Circular Single-Stranded DNA: Discovery, Biological Effects, and Applications

“…Currently, M13mp18 and several of its variants in terms of length and sequence remain the primary reservoirs of ssDNA scaffolds that are used for DNA origami assembly. , In addition, bacteriophages have become multifunctional tools in the field of bioengineering, with great potential in tissue engineering, vaccine development, , and immunotherapy. , The genetic composition of bacteriophages can be exploited for the development of novel DNA vaccines and antigen display systems, owing to their ability to provide highly organized and repetitive antigen presentation to immune cells. , The utilization of phages as specific molecular determinants targeting cancer cells has novel prospects, whereby they can be used as carriers for anticancer agents, imaging molecules, and therapeutic agents …”

Engineered Phage-Based Cancer Vaccines: Current Advances and Future Directions

“…Animal studies have elucidated the way that phage-based vaccines can generate potent and durable antitumor immune responses [ 71 , 72 , 73 ]. In addition to their efficacy, phages are safe, cost-effective, and easy to produce, making them a feasible option for large-scale vaccine development and distribution [ 74 , 75 ]. Thus, phages have introduced a new technique for the immunotherapy of diverse types of cancer, resulting in better outcomes for patients and a potential cure for cancer.…”

“…A phage display system has been developed as an information mining tool for the identification of peptides that mimic functional peptides and the study or targeting of the roles of chemokines and receptors [ 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 ]. pVIII has been used in tissue engineering and cancer immunotherapy [ 74 ]. Foreign peptides displayed on pIII have been used to fabricate multifunctional synthetic phages for sensing or capture [ 20 , 22 , 23 , 100 , 101 ].…”

Bioinformatic identification of Endemic Coronaviruses’ epitopes in SARS-CoV-2 genomes isolated in Kenya

“…Epitopes are domains on the surface of a pathogen that are recognized by the immune system. These short amino acid sequences de ne the antigen signature to which an antibody or T cell receptor binds, playing a crucial role in the immune response against pathogens 9,10 . The identi cation of shared epitopes between SARS-CoV-2 and endemic coronaviruses is crucial for understanding cross-immunity and designing broad-spectrum vaccines.…”