M4L3 - Vaccines and biotherapeutics

Subunit vaccine

This is a vaccine containing one or more purified bacterial proteins that have been made non-pathogenic; induces a strong adaptive immune response

Diptheria

This is an upper-respiratory tract infection caused by cornybacterium diptheriae; produces a toxin which creates a pseudomembrane that complicates breathing. May lead to septicaemia

Tetanus

This is an infection caused by clostridium tetanae, results in uncontrolled and prolonged muscle spasms which may lead to death

Whooping cough

This is a highly contagious respiratory-tract infection causing severe coughing; possibly pneumonia, seizures, brain haemorrhaging. Caused by bordetella pertussis

FHA and pertacin

This is two virulence factors that mediate binding of bacteria to ciliated airway cells during whooping cough infection

Pertussis toxin

This is a virulence factor that inhibits macrophage migration and/or function

Toxoid

This is a toxin inactivated via chemical treatment

Opsonisation

This is the binding of antibodies to a pathogenic antigen to signal for destruction by phagocytic cells

Conjugate vaccine

This is a vaccine composed of a polysaccharide immunogen covalently linked to a protein antigen

Capsule

This is a polysaccharide complex that sits outside of the bacterial cell wall

Codon usage

This refers to difference codons specifying/preferncing different amino acids in bacterial cells and mammalian cells

Promotor

This allows for the transcription of mRNA to begin

Shine-Dalgarno sequence

This allows for the binding of the ribosome to mRNA, initiating translation

Coding sequence

This refers to the gene of interest to be expressed

Terminator

This stops the transcription of mRNA

Start/stop codon

This is two codons which permit initiation and then terminate translation