Vaccine Protocols

This extensively revised, updated, and expanded second edition of a classic laboratory manual applies new understanding of molecular mechanisms to the rational design and development of vaccines. Here the working researcher will find readily reproducible techniques for the development and production of live attenuated vaccines, and vaccines based on inactivated toxins, peptides, and polysaccharide conjugates. New to this edition are cutting-edge chapters on two different viral vectors (Vaccinia and Semliki Forest), lactic acid bacteria for delivery of foreign antigens, incorporation of immunomodulators into plasmid DNA vaccines, construction of tetramer complexes to detect CMI responses, assessment of functional antibody responses, and the use of complete genome sequences for vaccine design. There are also chapters describing more general techniques for vaccine formulation, delivery, and assessment of immune responses, and review discussions of scale-up to manufacture, vaccine quality assurance, and clinical trials.

This laboratory manual describes protocols for designing, producing, and assessing improved or novel vaccines. Topics of the 24 chapters include synthetic peptides, microencapsulation of vaccine antigens, induction and detection of T-cell responses, assessment of functional antibody responses, and clinical trials. The second edition adds chapters on live viral vaccine vectors, attenuated bacterial vectors, immunomodulators, MHC-peptide tetrameric complexes, and genomic analysis. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

James R. Sherwood

This book is a manual of laboratory procedures for use in vaccine development and testing. A thorough review of vaccine design and current delivery technology are provided. Quality control, regulatory requirements and human clinical trials are discussed briefly. The primary purpose of the book is to provide, in one place, basic procedures for a variety of assays used in the development and preclinical testing of vaccines. Many of these assays are also used routinely in basic infectious disease research. The target audience for this book is bench scientists and their technicians working in vaccine development and production or infectious disease research. Timely and appropriate references are provided for most procedures. Helpful notes are included after many of the procedures. The editor has compiled a valuable basic reference manual of vaccine related laboratory procedures. These include vaccine development procedures, procedures related to vaccine delivery (i.e., adjuvant preparation, conjugation to carrier proteins, DNA vaccination), and assays for the assessment of immune response to vaccines. The book is strongest in the area of vaccine development and delivery technology. Quality control and human clinical trials are briefly discussed and do not add much to the overall value of the book but do complete the process of vaccine evaluation. Organization of the chapters and procedures within the chapters is logical and intuitive. The book will be especially valuable to those new to the field of vaccine development and formulation.

Robinson, Andrew (Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research); Farrar, Graham H. (Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research); Wiblin, Christopher N. (Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research)

The contributors represent the specialties of immune mechanisms, cell biology, biochemistry, clinical oncology, and applied microbiology. Most are from academic medical centers, institutes, hospitals and laboratories in the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S. Institutions prominently represented include National Institute of Public Health, Imperial Coll of Science, St. George's Hospital Merck Research Laboratories, and Univ of Glasgow.