![]() Generally speaking, the main challenges include the poor immunogenicity of carbohydrates, low affinity of protein–carbohydrate interactions, structural diversity of glycans between species and/or strains and microheterogeneity.Ī major breakthrough in improving immunogenicity came with the discovery that chemical conjugation of glycans to a suitable protein scaffold can convert carbohydrates from T-cell-independent antigens to T-cell-dependent antigens. ![]() For example, improvements in synthetic methods facilitate the identification and evaluation of potential glycan antigens by providing usable amounts of pure material.Ī number of challenges are associated with targeting glycan structures in a vaccine context. Recent advances in glycomics, particularly carbohydrate synthesis, protein conjugation methods, analysis, structural determination and array fabrication, are accelerating progress in the carbohydrate vaccine field. The steady increase in drug resistance has catalysed a renewed interest in carbohydrate vaccine development against a wide range of pathogens (that is, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, helminths and viruses) as well as cancer. Indeed, most vaccines against bacterial infections are carbohydrate vaccines. Carbohydrate structures decorate the surface of pathogens and malignant cells and could be exploited as potential targets for vaccine design.
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