Tuberculosis (TB) (caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis ) affects the lungs and was declared a global emergency in 1993 by the WHO. More than two decades after this declaration, the disease still remains a serious and considerable threat to global health. TB is spread through air and the disease is second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest killer worldwide due to a single infectious agent. In 2013, nine million people fell ill with TB and 1.5 million died from the disease. Standard anti-TB drugs have been used for decades, and resistance to the medicines is widespread. Disease strains that are resistant to a single anti-TB drug have been documented in every country surveyed. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to, at least, isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most powerful, first-line (or standard) anti-TB drugs (source: WHO). The only effective vaccine for TB is the BCG vaccine; however it is effective in children only, not in adults. Hence there is a need for effective vaccines for TB.

Meningococcal meningitis is a form of meningitis caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis . Meningitis is characterized by inflammation of the membranes (meninges) around the brain or spinal cord. The bacteria are spread through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions. For N. meningitidis , the amino acid sequence of the protective antigen factor H-binding protein ( fHBP ) has more than 300 variations. These sequence differences can be classified into three distinct groups of antigenic variants that do not induce cross-protective immunity. Scarselli et al. [ 1 ] demonstrated that the structure-based design of multiple immunodominant anti genic surfaces on a single protein scaffold is possible and represents an effective way to create broadly protective vaccines.

References

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[1] Scarselli M, Aricò B, Brunelli B, Savino S, Di Marcello F et al (2011) Rational design of a meningococcal antigen inducing broad protective immunity. Sci Transl Med 3:91ra62