Shigella bacteria invade the epithelial cells of the colon, this leads to the development of an inflammatory disease 'Shigellosis'. As a reputable research service provider, we are dedicated to promoting the research of shigellosis vaccines and therapies.
Overview of Shigellosis
Shigellosis is an infection caused by bacteria of the Shigella genus, which particularly impacts young children from lower and middle income countries. The condition is marked by acute abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea, and fever, these are symptoms resulting from the invasion of intracellular epithelial cells. According to the WHO, Shigella infections contribute to around 1.1 million deaths a year, much of it in children under five years of age. Sanitation and crowding worsen the problem, with the main method of transmission being fecal-oral.
Fig.1 The diversity of Shigella spp. across seven LMICs. (Bengtsson R. J., et al., 2022)
Vaccine Development for Shigellosis
There has been growing interest among biopharmaceutical researchers and the market to look at developing vaccines for shigellosis. Several candidates have been investigated to develop effective vaccines:
Table 1 Current vaccine candidates for Shigella. (Mani S., et al., 2016)
| Candidate name/identifier platform |
Developer |
Status |
| Cellular candidates |
| ShigETEC |
EveliQure Biotechnologies GmbH, Vienna, Austria |
Preclinical |
| Truncated Shigella |
International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, Korea |
Preclinical |
| Ty21a typhoid vaccine expressing Shigella LPS |
Protein Potential LLC, Rockville, Maryland USA |
Preclinical |
| Heat Killed Multi Serotype Shigella (HKMS) vaccine |
NICED, Kolkata, India |
Preclinical |
| guaBA-based live attenuated (CVD 1208, CVD 1208S)] |
CVD at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA |
Phase I |
| Inactivated trivalent Shigella whole cell |
PATH, Washington DC and WRAIR, Silver Spring, Maryland USA |
Phase I |
| virG-based live attenuated (WRSS1, WRSs3, WRSf3) |
WRAIR, Silver Spring, Maryland USA |
Phase II |
| Glycoconjugate candidates |
Synthetic glycoconjugate:
use of synthetic oligosaccharides (OSs), acting as efficient functional SF2a O-SP mimics, as the haptens for a conjugate vaccine |
Institut Pasteur, Paris, France |
Preclinical |
Recombinant glycoconjugate:
O polysaccharide specific biconjugate vaccine |
Limmatech Biologics AG Schlieren, Switzerland |
Phase II |
Chemically prepared glycoconjugate:
O polysaccharide
covalently linked to carrier protein |
LDMI at the NICHHD, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland USA |
Phase III |
| Novel antigen candidates |
InvaplexAR:
2nd generation macromolecular complex composed of Shigella LPS and the Type 3 secretions system proteins |
WRAIR, Silver Spring, Maryland |
Preclinical |
OMV:
Shigella outer membrane vesicles encapsulated in nanoparticles |
University of Navarra, Navarra, Spain |
Preclinical |
34 kDa OmpA:
Conserved and cross reactive major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of Shigella flexneri 2a |
NICED, Kolkata, India |
Preclinical |
Therapeutics Development for Shigellosis
Antibiotic Therapies
Antibiotics continue to be the cornerstone therapeutics for shigellosis. Nonetheless, there an expanding need for new drugs owing to the growing prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Ciprofloxacin which is a fluoroquinolone has been the first choice medication, nevertheless there has been emerging resistance and hence azithromycin and cefixime are alternatives.
Non-Antibiotic Therapies
Due to the possible emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, there is increased attention to the use of non-antibiotic therapies and approaches. These include bacteriophages, immunomodulatory agents, and probiotics which are currently been investigated for use against Shigella infections.
Our Services
An integrated approach is needed for winning the war against shigellosis involving vaccines and medicinal intecrventions. Our company takes this global health problem as a challenge which can be addressed by means of new scientific research and development services. We aim at enriching the research and development processes of pharmaceutical businesses globally through the promotion of therapeutic and vaccine candidates.
Disease Models
- BALB/c WT: S. flexneri 5a M90T
- BALB/cJRj WT: S. sonnei and S. flexneri 5a M90T
- C57BL/6 WT: S. flexneri 2a 2457T, or S. sonnei 53G
- C57BL/6 N Nlrc4-/-Gsdmd-/-: S. flexneri 2a M90T
Our preclinical research services are designed to provide a robust foundation for the development of effective shigellosis vaccines and therapies. We utilize state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and methodologies to assess the safety and efficacy of vaccine candidates. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.
References
- Bengtsson, Rebecca J., et al. "Pathogenomic analyses of Shigella isolates inform factors limiting shigellosis prevention and control across LMICs." Nature microbiology 7.2 (2022): 251-261.
- Mani Sachin, Thomas Wierzba, and Richard I. Walker. "Status of vaccine research and development for Shigella." Vaccine 34.26 (2016): 2887-2894.
All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use
only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.
