• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.295-310
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• 2024

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has led to a global health crisis with substantial mortality and morbidity. To combat the COVID-19 pandemic, various vaccines have been developed, but unexpected serious adverse events including vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia, carditis, and thromboembolic events have been reported and became a huddle for COVID-19 vaccination. Vaccine-related myocarditis (VRM) is a rare but significant adverse event associated primarily with mRNA vaccines. This review explores the incidence, risk factors, clinical presentation, pathogenesis, management strategies, and outcomes associated with VRM. The incidence of VRM is notably higher in male adolescents and young adults, especially after the second dose of mRNA vaccines. The pathogenesis appears to involve an immune-mediated process, but the precise mechanism remains mostly unknown so far. Most studies have suggested that VRM is mild and self-limiting, and responds well to conventional treatment. However, a recent nationwide study in Korea warns that severe cases, including fulminant myocarditis or death, are not uncommon in patients with COVID-19 VRM. The long-term cardiovascular consequences of VRM have not been well understood and warrant further investigation. This review also briefly addresses the critical balance between the substantial benefits of COVID-19 vaccination and the rare risks of VRM in the coming endemic era. It emphasizes the need for continued surveillance, research to understand the underlying mechanisms, and strategies to mitigate risk. Filling these knowledge gaps would be vital to refining vaccination recommendations and improving patient care in the evolving COVID-19 pandemic landscape.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2024

The number of pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases worldwide are increasing compared to the early phase of the pandemic, along with highly transmissible severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus variant and the increase in adult COVID-19 vaccination. We conducted a rapid systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of the COVID-19 vaccines and the observational retrospective studies on adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents. Seventeen studies were finally included in this systematic review. Meta-analysis showed that although vaccination in adolescents was significantly effective to prevent COVID-19 infection in retrospective studies (risk ratio [RR], 0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.37; I² =100%), however the effect of preventing COVID-19 infection was lower than in RCTs (RR, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01-0.27). In five retrospective studies, the pooled estimated proportion of participants with myocarditis and/or pericarditis was 2.33 per 100,000 of the population (95% CI, 0.97-5.61 per 100,000). Sub-group analysis with sex and vaccine doses showed that male (5.35 per 100,000) and the second dose (9.71 per 100,000) had significantly higher incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis than female (1.09 per 100,000) and the first dose (1.61 per 100,000), respectively. Our study showed that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in adolescent recipients were favorable and effective against COVID-19 in RCT as well as observational studies. The safety findings of BNT162b2 vaccine in adolescents were explored and we found the difference of safety according to sex and vaccine doses. The occurrence of adverse events after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination should be monitored.

• Korean Journal of Plant Tissue Culture
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.239-243
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• 2000

Helicobacter pylori, an etiologic agent of gastritis and peptic ulceration, produces urease which elicits a powerful immunoglobulin response in H. pylori-infected individuals. To establish a model plant vaccine agains H. pylori, 750 bp -ureA DNA amplified by polymerase chain reaction from pH 808 plasmid harboring urease gene cluster was cloned and manipulated to be expressed in tobacco plants. From the regenerated transgenic tobacco plants, ureA DNA integration,m its mRNA expression and protein synthesis were analyzed and confirmed by standard molecular techniques. The CaMV 35S promoter-driving ureA construct was expressed to produce a 30 kDa protein which was identical with bacterial UreA in size when detected on immunoblot of SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.42-53
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• 2024

Purpose: Conduct a systematic review of case reports and case series regarding the development of acute abdomen following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination, to describe the possible association and the clinical and demographic characteristics in detail. Materials and Methods: This study included case report studies and case series that focused on the development of acute abdomen following COVID-19 vaccination. Systematic review studies, literature, letters to the editor, brief comments, and so forth were excluded. PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were searched until June 15, 2023. The Joanna Briggs Institute tool was used to assess the risk of bias and the quality of the study. Descriptive data were presented as frequency, median, mean, and standard deviation. Results: Seventeen clinical case studies were identified, evaluating 17 patients with acute abdomen associated with COVID-19 vaccination, which included acute appendicitis (n=3), acute pancreatitis (n=9), diverticulitis (n=1), cholecystitis (n=2), and colitis (n=2). The COVID-19 vaccine most commonly linked to acute abdomen was Pfizer-BioNTech (messenger RNA), accounting for 64.71% of cases. Acute abdomen predominantly occurred after the first vaccine dose (52.94%). All patients responded objectively to medical (88.34%) and surgical (11.76%) treatment and were discharged within a few weeks. No cases of death were reported. Conclusion: Acute abdomen is a rare complication of great interest in the medical and surgical practice of COVID-19 vaccination. Our study is based on a small sample of patients; therefore, it is recommended to conduct future observational studies to fully elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this association.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.28-36
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• 2022

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in children aged 5-11 years, a rapid systematic review was conducted on published clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines and studies that analyzed real-world data on adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination. Methods: A systematic search was conducted on medical literature in international (Ovid-MEDLINE) and pre-published literature databases (medRxiv), followed by handsearching up to January 4, 2022. We used terms including COVID-19, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and vaccines, and the certainty of evidence was graded using the GRADE approach. Results: A total of 1,675 studies were identified, of which five were finally selected. Among the five studies, four consisted of data from clinical trials of each of the four types of COVID-19 vaccines (BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, CoronaVac, and BBIBP-CorV). The remaining study consisted of real-world data on the safety of the BNT162b2 vaccine in children aged 5-11 years. This systematic review identified that COVID-19 vaccines in recipients aged 5-11 years produced a favorable immune response, and were vaccines were effective against COVID-19. The safety findings for the BNT162b2 vaccine in children and early adolescents aged 5-11 years were similar to those data noted in the clinical trial. Conclusions: There is limited data on COVID-19 vaccines in children aged 5-11 years. Consequently continuous and comprehensive monitoring is necessary for the evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.

• BMB Reports
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.392-397
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• 2023

In this study, recombinant Fc-fused Prostate acid phosphatase (PAP) proteins were produced in transgenic plants. PAP was fused to immunoglobulin (Ig) A and M Fc domain (PAP-IgA Fc and PAP-IgM Fc), which were tagged to the ER retention sequence KDEL to generate PAP-IgA FcK and PAP-IgM FcK. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation was performed to produce transgenic tobacco plants expressing four recombinant proteins. Genomic PCR and RT-PCR analyses confirmed the transgene insertion and mRNA transcription of PAP-IgA Fc, PAP-IgM Fc, PAP-IgA FcK, and PAP-IgM FcK in tobacco plant leaves. Western blot confirmed the expression of PAP-IgA Fc, PAP-IgM Fc, PAP-IgA FcK, and PAP-IgM FcK proteins. SEC-HPLC and Bio-TEM analyses were performed to confirm the size and shape of the plant-derived recombinant PAP-Fc fusion proteins. In mice experiments, the plant-derived IgA and IgM Fc fused proteins induced production of total IgGs including IgG1 against PAP. This result suggests that IgA and IgM Fc fusion can be applied to produce recombinant PAP proteins as a prostate cancer vaccine in plant expression system.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.34-41
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• 2013

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) has been known to induce interferon-${\gamma}$ (IFN-${\gamma}$) production and promote Th1 immunity. Although mammalian IL-18 has been characterized in great detail, the properties and application of chicken IL-18 remain largely uninvestigated as of yet. In this study, we evaluated the immunomodulatory properties of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium expressing chicken interleukin-18 (chIL-18) on immune responses induced by avian influenza (AI) and Newcastle disease (ND) vaccines. After oral administration of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium expressing chIL-18, chickens were vaccinated intramuscularly with the recommended dose of either inactivated AI H9N2 vaccine or ND (B1 strain) vaccine. Chickens receiving a primary vaccination were boosted using the same protocol 7 days later. Humoral and cell-mediated immune responses were evaluated in terms of HI antibody titers and proliferation and mRNA expression of IFN-${\gamma}$ and IL-4 of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in response to specific antigen stimulation. According to our results, oral administration of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium expressing chIL-18 induced enhanced humoral and Th1-biased cell-mediated immunity against AI and ND vaccines, compared to that of chickens received S. enterica serovar Typhimurium harboring empty vector. Therefore, we conclude that our proposed vaccination regimen using inactivated AI and ND viruses along with oral administration of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium expressing chIL-18 may provide a novel approach in protecting chicken from currently circulating AI and ND virus strains.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.14
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• 2024

Background: Lawsonia intracellularis is the causative agent of proliferative enteropathy and is associated with several outbreaks, causing substantial economic loss to the porcine industry. Objectives: In this study, we focused on demonstrating the protective effect in the mouse model through the immunological bases of two vaccine strains against porcine proliferative enteritis. Methods: We used live-attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) secreting two selected immunogenic LI antigens (Lawsonia autotransporter A epitopes and flagellin [FliC]-peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein-FliC) as the vaccine carrier. The constructs were cloned into a Salmonella expression vector (pJHL65) and transformed into the ST strain (JOL912). The expression of immunogenic proteins within Salmonella was evaluated via immunoblotting. Results: Immunizing BALB/c mice orally and subcutaneously induced high levels of LI-specific systemic immunoglobulin G and mucosal secretory immunoglobulin A. In immunized mice, there was significant upregulation of interferon-γ and interleukin-4 cytokine mRNA and an increase in the subpopulations of cluster of differentiation (CD) 4⁺ and CD 8⁺ T lymphocytes upon splenocytes re-stimulation with LI antigens. We observed significant protection in C57BL/6 mice against challenge with 10^6.9 times the median tissue culture infectious dose of LI or 2 × 10⁹ colony-forming units of the virulent ST strain. Immunizing mice with either individual vaccine strains or co-mixture inhibited bacterial proliferation, with a marked reduction in the percentage of mice shedding Lawsonia in their feces. Conclusions: Salmonella-mediated LI gene delivery induces robust humoral and cellular immune reactions, leading to significant protection against LI and salmonellosis.

• Proceedings of the Korea Information Processing Society Conference
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• 2020.05a
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• pp.413-416
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• 2020

COVID-19(Coronavirus Disease 2019)는 RNA 형 바이러스로써 점막감염(粘膜感染)과 비말전파(飛沫傳播)로 전염되는 급성 호흡기성 질병이다. 2019 년 12 월 중국 후베이 우한에서 처음 감염이 보고된 후 빠르게 글로벌로 확산되었고, 현재 여러 국가와 지역이 Lockdown 상태에 있다. COVID-19 의 치사율은 국가별, 연령별 차이는 있으나 사스(SARS-CoV), 메르스(MERS-CoV) 등과 비교하여 높다고 할 수 없다. 그러나 COVID-19 는 신종 코로나바이러스로써 아직 백신(Vaccine)과 항바이러스제가 개발되지 않았고 다른 질병과 비교하여 빠른 감염 속도때문에 의료 공백, 사회적 혼란, 경제적 손실을 크게 일으키고 있다. 따라서 바이러스의 확산 양상을 데이터 분석을 통하여 예측할 수 있다면 사회·경제적인 폐해를 줄일 수 있어 Bass 모델과 R 패키지를 이용하여 COVID-19 확산 예측 모형을 계량적으로 제시하였다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.987-991
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• 2013

Aim: To study anti-tumor effects of exosomes from class II transactivator (CIITA) gene transfected CT26 cells. Methods: In this study, we established an MHC class II molecule-expressing murine colon cancer cell line (CT26-CIITA) by transduction of the CIITA gene. Immune effects in vitro and tumor protective results in vivo were tested and monitored. Results: Exosomes from CT26-CIITA cells were found to contain a high level of MHC class II protein. When loaded on dendritic cells (DCs), exosomes from CT26-CIITA cells significantly increased expression of MHC class II molecules, CD86 and CD80, as compared to exosomes from CT26 cells. In vitro assays using co-culture of immunized splenocytes and exosome-loaded DCs demonstrated that CIITA-Exo enhanced splenocyte proliferation and IFN-${\gamma}$ production of CD4+T cells, while inhibiting IL-10 secretion. In addition, compared to exosomes from CT26 cells, CT26-CIITA-derived exosomes induced higher TNF-${\alpha}$ and IL-12 mRNA levels. A mouse tumour preventive model showed that CT26-CIITA derived exosomes significantly inhibited tumour growth in a dose-dependent manner and significantly prolonged the survival time of tumour-bearing mice. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that CT26-CIITA-released exosomes are more efficient to induce anti-tumour immune responses, suggesting a potential role of MHC class II-containing tumour exosomes as cancer vaccine candidates.