Developing effective vaccines and therapeutics against enterovirus infections is a complex but critical undertaking. By leveraging the latest scientific advances and strategic approaches, our company is able to provide expert vaccine and therapeutic development solutions to global pharmaceutical companies.
Introduction to Enterovirus Infection
Enteroviruses are a group of viruses that are distinct from other viruses due to their positive single-stranded RNA feature. These viruses are members of the Picornaviridae family and contain more than 70 known serotypes, which encompass coxsackievirus, poliovirus and enterovirus D68 among other significant pathogens. The main modes of transmission of Enteroviruses are through fecal-oral and aerosol routes of infection which can cause a plethora of other illnesses ranging from simple respiratory diseases to advanced conditions like viral meningitis, myocarditis, or acute flaccid paralysis.
The severe enterovirus infection can be particularly dangerous for young children and neonates as it can cause a high level of morbidity and mortality. The lack of maternal antibodies against certain viral serotypes combined with other factors like pre term birth greatly enhances would further worsen the antifetal deficiency during the first few weeks of life.
Fig.1 Cellular miRNAs are involved in Enterovirus infection-induced apoptosis. (Ho B.C., et al., 2016)
Vaccine Development for Enterovirus Infection
Because of the importance poliovirus has had in epidemiological aspects, the efforts to develop enterovirus vaccines have been chiefly oriented towards this virus. Both the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) have been proven to engineer a drastic decline in the number of cases of poliomyelitis throughout the world. Nonetheless, research defining the development of vaccines against other enteroviruses, such as enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) and enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is still important.
Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) Vaccines
Clinical trials have already begun for a few vaccines, for example the inactivated, EVA71 live-health and attenuated formulations. china has developed an EVA71 vaccine which is reported to prevent the hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) caused by the virus and has been proven to be effective in the phase three trial.
Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) Vaccines
The sporadic emerging cases of EV-D68, especially in children, stress the need for developing a vaccine . At present, the other MAYBE on whether to incorporate both inactivated and live-attenuated vaccine candidates into the procedure is still under development with the goal for developing high performing immune within the limits or range of different serotypes of the enterovirus.
Therapeutics Development for Enterovirus Infection
Direct-Acting Antivirals
Direct-acting antiviral agents block the action of specific viral elements for example viral polymerases or proteases. Compounds such as pleconaril and pocapavir have been designed to prevent the uncoating of enteroviruses thus preventing virus replication. It has been observed and reported that these drugs are effective in clinical trials for enterovirus meningitis.
Host-Targeting Inhibitors
Targeting inhibitors directed against the host exploit cellular components necessary for virus replication. Mistargeting host proteins, these inhibitors can act against a wide range of enterovirus serotypes. For example, there are antiviral agents that inhibit a human phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase III beta (PI4KB) which participates in the generation of replication organelles.
Our Services
In the institution, we offer an extensive portfolio of specialized services in support of vaccine and therapy development targeting enterovirus associated infections. Our team of experts is fully engaged in providing custom solutions for the specific needs posed by the respective viral infections.
Preclinical Research
- Pharmacodynamics Study Services
- Pharmacokinetics Study Services
- Drug Safety Evaluation Services
Disease Models
- Neonatal Mouse (Swiss-Webster, ICR, C57BL/6, BALB/c, KunMing, NIH) Infection Models
- Mouse-adapted EV-D68 Strains Infection Models
- Ferrets Intranasal Inoculation Prototype EV-D68 Fermon Strain Models
- Transgenic Mouse Models: Mice expressing human PSGL-1 or SCARB2
Our facilities are equipped to conduct a range of assays to evaluate the antiviral activity, cytotoxicity, and pharmacokinetics of candidate drugs in cellular and animal models. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to
contact us.
Reference
- Ho, Bing-Ching, Pan-Chyr Yang, and Sung-Liang Yu. "MicroRNA and pathogenesis of enterovirus infection." Viruses 8.1 (2016): 11.
All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use
only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.
