Melioidosis is an infectious disease endemic to tropical environments that's engendered by the Burkholderia pseudomallei bacteria. In this endeavor, we focus on the advancement of tetanus vaccines through research and partnership to come up with a holistic solution for our customers.
Overview of Melioidosis
Melioidosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium known as Burkholderia pseudomallei and can be extremely dangerous. This environmental pathogen is a common cause of sepsis and pneumonia in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. This disease can develop in two ways: acute disease which is prompt and severe and chronic infection which is the absence of symptoms. B. pseudomallei is resistant to many forms of antibiotics, so diagnosing the disease can take time, which complicates the therapeutic process even more.
Fig.1 Milestones in the history of melioidosis. (Wiersinga W. J., et al., 2018)
Vaccine Development for Melioidosis
The creation of a melioidosis vaccine marks the foundation stone in combating this disease. Considering the fact that melioidosis has exceptionally high rates of morbidity and mortality, especially in vulnerable populations like patients having diabetes or impaired immunity situations, a preventive vaccine would be a game-changer.
Table 1 Vaccines for the prevention of melioidosis. (Johnson M. M., et al., 2017)
| Vaccine |
Route of administration (vaccine/challenge) |
Challenge model (strain) |
Survival (%) post-challenge |
| Live attenuated |
| purN mutant (∆purN) |
i.n./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (E8) |
100% at day 9 |
| purM mutant strain (∆purM/Bp82) |
SubQ/i.n. |
B. pseudomallei (1026b) |
100% (C57BL/6) and 60% (BALB/c) at day 60 |
| aroC mutant (∆aroC/A2) |
i.p./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (A2) |
80% (C57BL/6) and 0% (BALB/c) at 5 months |
| asd mutant (∆asd) |
i.n./i.n. |
B. pseudomallei (1026b) |
100% at day 80 (acute infection); 0% at day 60 (chronic infection) |
| relA/spT mutant (∆relA/spT) |
i.n./i.n. |
B. pseudomallei (576) |
100% at day 30 (C57BL/6) |
| Capsular polysaccharide (CPS)- expressing mutant B. thailandensis strain |
i.p./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (K96243) |
100% at day 35 |
| Subunit |
| Purified outer membrane protein W (ompW) |
i.p./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (576) |
75% at day 21 |
| Purified outer membrane protein 85 (omp85) |
i.p./i.p; |
B. pseudomallei (D286) |
70% at day 15 |
| Purified outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) |
i.p./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (K96243) |
67% at day 21 |
| Purified MprA protein (SmBpF4) |
i.p./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (D286) |
100% at day 25 |
| Purified LolC protein |
SubQ/i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (K96243) |
80% at day 42 |
| Purified PilV protein |
SubQ/SubQ |
B. pseudomallei (G207) |
NS |
| Purified proteins BPSL1897, BPSL3369, BPSL2287 |
i.p./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (K96243) |
75% at day 40 |
| CPS and O-polysaccharide glycoconjugate (CPS2B1) |
SubQ/i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (K96243) |
90% at day 21 |
| OPS II glycoconjugate |
i.p./i.n. |
B. pseudomallei (K96243) |
40% at day 14 |
| Polymer-encapsulated adjuvant and whole-killed B. pseudomallei |
SubQ/i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (1026b) |
88% at day 14 |
| Cationic liposomes complexed with adjuvant and whole-killed B. pseudomallei |
i.m./i.p. |
B. pseudomallei (1026b) |
100% at day 30 |
| Cationic liposomes complexed with plasmid DNA and whole-killed B. pseudomallei |
i.n./i.n. |
B. pseudomallei (1026b) |
100% at day 40 |
Therapeutics Development for Melioidosis
The development of new therapies for melioidosis therapy faces issues due to B. pseudomallei's nature of being resistant to antibiotics. And available treatment is only a handful of antibiotics yet with varying effectiveness. New Drugs and Novelties can be assisted by:
A new strand of research explores the possibilities of using drug already approved for other conditions and looking for activity against B. pseudomallei. This particular approach can save time in the development process since the safety profiles of these drugs have already been established.
Novel Antimicrobial Agents
Through the design of drugs selective against the type III secretion system or the quorum sensing mechanisms, the ability of B. pseudomallei to cause diseases to be dominated.
Cytokine modulators, including inhibitors and enhancers, are disclosing potentially worthwhile therapies aimed at controlling the disorder by modulating the host's immune response.
Our Services
Ensuring development and therapies of this mega infectious disease are effective is a high priority. We understand melioidosis at a much deeper level which allows us to offer services for its vaccination and therapeutics. We offer a comprehensive suite of services, including:
Disease Models
- Mouse Models: BALB/c mice, C57BL/6 mice
- Hamster Models: acute model of experimental melioidosis
- Large Animal Models
- Non-mammalian Models: nematode, amoeba
Preclinical Research
- Drug Safety Evaluation
- In Vivo Pharmacokinetics Study
- In Vitro Pharmacokinetics Study
- Activity Testing
- Drug Resistance Evaluation
Our vision is to help in developing therapeutics and drugs for melioidosis and with our background in drug development, microbiology, immunology and biology, we assure effectiveness. With our extensive programs, we enable the cutting-edge melioidosis therapeutics to come to fruition. We would be happy to hear from you and help you with the services needed in this regard so if we have sparked an interest, feel free to contact us.
References
- Wiersinga W. J., et al. "Melioidosis." Nature reviews Disease primers 4.1 (2018): 1-22.
- Johnson Monica M., and Kristy M. Ainslie. "Vaccines for the prevention of melioidosis and glanders." Current tropical medicine reports 4 (2017): 136-145.
All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use
only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.
