Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Michelle L. Salazar, Byron N. Castillo, Augusto Manubens, Abel E. Vásquez, Fabián Salazar, Marı́a Inés Becker,
New-generation vaccines, formulated with subunits or nucleic acids, are less immunogenic than classical vaccines formulated with live-attenuated or inactivated pathogens. This difference has led to an intensified search for additional potent vaccine adjuvants that meet safety and efficacy criteria and confer long-term protection. This review provides an overview of protein-based adjuvants (PBAs) obtained from different organisms, including bacteria, mollusks, plants, and humans. Notably, despite ...
Tópico(s): Influenza Virus Research Studies
2022 - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute | Pharmaceutics
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, José I. Jerias, Daniel A. Soto, Jorge A. Soto, Natalia V. Díaz, Yessica Y. Leyton, Rodrigo Villegas, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
Tópico(s): Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
2018 - Springer Science+Business Media | Molecular Biotechnology
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Carlos Hernández, Daniel F. Escobar, Daniel A. Soto, Guillermo A. Muñoz, Jesús F. Badilla, Ricardo A. Manzo, Flavio Carrión, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the primary etiological agent of sepsis and meningitis in newborns and is associated with premature birth and stillbirth. The development of a licensed vaccine is one of the pending challenges for the World Health Organization. Previously, we showed that oral immunization with surface immune protein (SIP) decreases vaginal colonization of GBS and generates functional opsonizing antibodies, which was determined by opsonophagocytic assays (OPA) in vitro. We also showed ...
Tópico(s): Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
2020 - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute | Vaccines
Jorge A. Soto, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Daniel A. Soto, Magaly J. Barrientos, Flavio Carrión, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
Tópico(s): Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
2019 - Elsevier BV | Molecular Immunology
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Dany Alexis Sobarzo Soto, Yessica Y. Leyton, María J. Altamirano‐Lagos, María José Avendaño, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
The Surface Immunogenic Protein (SIP) of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) had been described as a good target for vaccine development. To date, SIP has been reported as a highly conserved protein, and in a mouse model it induces protection against lethal GBS challenge. Also, similar effects have been described by intranasal immunization with a SIP-based vaccine. In this study, we show the immune response induced by an oral SIP-based vaccine formulated on alum in a mouse model. Our vaccine can reduce vaginal ...
Tópico(s): Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
2018 - Elsevier BV | Molecular Immunology
Daniel F. Escobar, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Carlos Hernández, Daniel A. Soto, Ricardo A. Manzo, Pedro I. Alarcón, Camila H. Pinto, Diego N. Bastias, Carolayn N. Oberg-Bravo, Robert Rojas, Sebastián E. Illanes, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
Abstract Background Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is the leading cause of invasive neonatal infection. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the analytical validation of qualitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) as a means to detect GBS. Methods Genomic DNA (gDNA) was purified from 12 ATCC bacterial strains, two belonging to GBS and the remainder acting as negative controls. Additionally, gDNA was isolated from 21 strains of GBS from various serotypes (Ia, Ib and II-VIII). All gDNA was used ...
Tópico(s): Infective Endocarditis Diagnosis and Management
2020 - BioMed Central | BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Ricardo A. Manzo, Daniel A. Soto, María José Avendaño-Valenzuela, Diego N. Bastias, Paulina Soto, Daniel F. Escobar, Valeria Vásquez-Sáez, Flavio Carrión, Magdalena S. Pizarro-Ortega, Christian A.M. Wilson, Julio Berríos, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
Vaccine-induced protection against pathogens, especially subunit-based vaccines, are related to antigen properties but mainly in their ability to stimulate the immune system by the use of an adjuvant. Modern vaccines are formulated with a high level of antigen purity, where an efficient adjuvant is necessary. In this context, the use of protein Toll-Like Receptor (TLR) agonists as vaccine adjuvants has been highlighted because of their optimal immunogenicity and minimal toxicity. The Surface Immunogenic ...
Tópico(s): Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections
2020 - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute | Vaccines
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Michelle L. Salazar, Daniel F. Escobar, Byron N. Castillo, Bastián Valdebenito, Pablo Díaz, Augusto Manubens, Fabián Salazar, Mayarling Francisca Troncoso, Sergio Lavandero, Janepsy Díaz, Marı́a Inés Becker, Abel E. Vásquez,
The development of vaccine adjuvants is of interest for the management of chronic diseases, cancer, and future pandemics. Therefore, the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the effects of vaccine adjuvants has been investigated. TLR4 ligand-based adjuvants are the most frequently used adjuvants for human vaccines. Among TLR family members, TLR4 has unique dual signaling capabilities due to the recruitment of two adapter proteins, myeloid differentiation marker 88 (MyD88) and interferon-β adapter ...
Tópico(s): Vibrio bacteria research studies
2023 - Frontiers Media | Frontiers in Immunology
Daniel F. Escobar, Pablo Díaz, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Rodrigo Puentes, Pedro Alarcón, Bárbara Alarcón, Iván Rodríguez, Ricardo A. Manzo, Daniel A. Soto, Liliana Lamperti, Janepsy Díaz, Heriberto García-Escorza, Abel E. Vásquez,
In January 2021, the Chilean city of Concepción experienced a second wave of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) while in early April 2021, the entire country faced the same situation. This outbreak generated the need to modify and validate a method for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in saliva, thereby expanding the capacity and versatility of testing for COVID-19. This study was conducted in February 2021 in the Chilean city of Concepción during which time, the town ...
Tópico(s): SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
2021 - Frontiers Media | Frontiers in Public Health
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Francisco Javier Muñoz Ibáñez, Daniel A. Soto, Jorge A. Soto, Pablo F. Céspedes, Nicolás A. Muena, Diego S. Garate, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
The human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is the second leading cause globally of acute infection of the respiratory tract in children, infecting the upper and lower airways. The hMPV may induce an inappropriate Th2-type immune response, which causes severe pulmonary inflammation, leading to the obstruction of airways. Despite its severe epidemiological relevance, no vaccines are currently available for the prevention of hMPV-induced illness. In this investigation, we demonstrated that immunization of mice ...
Tópico(s): Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Studies
2018 - Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. | Viral Immunology
Paloma Avilés, Daniel F. Escobar, Gisselle Barra, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Loredana Arata, Daniel A. Soto, Abel E. Vásquez, Janepsy Díaz,
Streptococcus agalactiae es un agente colonizador vaginal intermitente. En mujeres embarazadas es considerado principal factor de riego de infecciones neonatales graves como meningitis, además de ser el causante de parto prematuro y muerte fetal. S. agalactiae se clasifica en 10 serotipos (Ia, Ib, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII y IX) basado en la estructura de sus polisacáridos que componen su cápsula. Actualmente en Chile, la identificación de los serotipos está destinado solo a cepas aisladas de ...
Tópico(s): Infective Endocarditis Diagnosis and Management
2023 - | Revista del Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile
Daniel F. Escobar, Ricardo A. Manzo, Rodrigo Puentes, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Gonzalo Marambio, Daniel A. Soto, María López, Janepsy Díaz, Abel E. Vásquez,
La pandemia por coronavirus 2 del síndrome respiratorio agudo severo (SARS-CoV-2), que causa la enfermedad de coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), trajo consigo grandes exigencias a nivel científico; una de ellas es la oportuna detección de pacientes contagiados. En este contexto, los dispositivos médicos de diagnóstico in vitro (IVD, en sus siglas en inglés) han constituido una alternativa esencial en el manejo y control de la pandemia en todo el mundo, por su sensibilidad, especificidad, y alto rendimiento ...
Tópico(s): SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
2021 - | Revista del Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile
Marı́a Inés Becker, Michelle L. Salazar, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Abel E. Vásquez, Javiera Villar, Alejandra Alvarado, Byron Castillo, Daniel Navarro, Fabián Salazar, Augusto Manubens,
Abstract Hemocyanins are oligomeric glycoproteins widely used as immunomodulators because they bias immunity towards a Th1 profile when inoculated in mammals. We have demonstrated that hemocyanins are internalized through receptor-mediated endocytosis, and TLR4 and C-type lectin receptors (MR, DC-SIGN, MGL) participate in the hemocyanin-mediated proinflammatory response in mouse and human dendritic cells (DCs). However, despite the massive use of hemocyanins, their intracellular processing route for ...
Tópico(s): Mosquito-borne diseases and control
2022 - American Association of Immunologists | The Journal of Immunology
Marcelo Farías, Alexis Rodriguez, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Daniel Soto, Diego Bastías, Mauricio Quezada, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
Introduccion: Streptococcus agalactiae o Estreptococo β-hemolitico (SGB) es la principal causa de morbilidad y mortalidad neonatal en el mundo. Esta bacteria coloniza el tracto vaginal de la mujer embarazada y el neonato se contamina durante el nacimiento. A nivel mundial se estima que la portacion de esta bacteria es entre un 10-40% de las mujeres embarazadas. En Chile, el ultimo estudio realizado entre los anos 2010-2012 reporto un 14% de presencia de SGB durante el embarazo. Sin embargo, se requiere ...
Tópico(s): Latin American Legal and Economic Studies
2018 - | Revista del Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile
Daniel A. Soto, Maria Altamirano, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Yessica Y. Leyton, Jorge Onrubia Fernández, Jaime W. Lagos, Pedro Alarcón, Oscar Fiscal López, Alexis M. Kalergis, Abel E. Vásquez,
Streptococcus agalactiae es una bacteria Gram-positiva asociada con muerte fetal y parto prematuro en mujeres embarazadas. Además, es el principal agente etiológico asociado con la morbilidad y la mortalidad durante los primeros meses de vida. A la fecha, no existen vacunas licenciadas y la interacción patógeno-huésped no se ha descrito por completo. Nosotros utilizamos una cepa chilena de Streptococcus agalactiae, aislada desde un recién nacido cursando con septicemia. Realizamos la caracterización ...
Tópico(s): Reproductive tract infections research
2018 - | Revista del Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Michelle Salazar, Augusto Manubens, Fabián Salazar, Mayarling Francisca Troncoso, Sergio Lavandero, Janepsy Díaz, Abel E. Vásquez, Marı́a Inés Becker,
Abstract Improved vaccine adjuvants are needed to address infectious diseases, cancer, and future pandemics. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) have been researched as targets of vaccine adjuvants because they modulate the innate immune system and activate adaptive immunity. TLR-based adjuvants induce cross-presentation of exogenous antigens to CD8 T lymphocytes. TLR4 signaling recruits the adapters myeloid differentiation marker 88 (MyD88), which mediates the recycling of endoplasmic reticulum fusion to ...
Tópico(s): Immune Response and Inflammation
2023 - American Association of Immunologists | The Journal of Immunology
Daniel F. Escobar, Pablo Díaz, Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Rodrigo Puentes, Pedro Alarcón, Bárbara Alarcón, Iván Rodríguez, Ricardo A. Manzo, Daniel A. Soto, Liliana Lamperti, Janepsy Díaz, Heriberto García-Escorza, Abel E. Vásquez,
Background: In January 2021, the city of Concepción in Chile suffered a second wave of COVID-19, while in early April 2021, all of Chile was facing the same situation. This generated the need to modify and validate a methodology for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in saliva, thereby expanding the capacity and versatility of testing.Methods: People who came to the health center in Concepción city to perform a test of real-time reverse transcription polymerase ...
Tópico(s): SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
2021 - RELX Group (Netherlands) | SSRN Electronic Journal
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Simone Cardenas-Cáceres, Nicolás A. Muena, Pablo Díaz, Gisselle Barra, Rodrigo Puentes, Daniel F. Escobar, Michal Díaz-Samirin, Natalia T. Santis-Alay, Cecilia Canales, Janepsy Díaz, Heriberto García-Escorza, Alba Grifoni, Alessandro Sette, Nicole D. Tischler, Abel E. Vásquez,
The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and its sublineages continue to cause COVID-19-associated pediatric hospitalizations, severe disease, and death globally. BNT162b2 and CoronaVac are the main vaccines used in Chile. Much less is known about the Wuhan-Hu-1 strain-based vaccines in the pediatric population compared to adults. Given the worldwide need for booster vaccinations to stimulate the immune response against new Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, we characterized the humoral and cellular immune response ...
Tópico(s): Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiology
2024 - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute | Vaccines
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca, Pablo Díaz, Gisselle Barra, Rodrigo Puentes, Loredana Arata, Jonnathan Grossolli, Boris Riveros-Rodriguez, Luis Ardiles, Julio Santelises, Valeria Vásquez-Sáez, Daniel F. Escobar, Daniel A. Soto, Cecilia Canales, Janepsy Díaz, Liliana Lamperti, Daniela Castillo, Mychel Urra, Felipe Zúñiga, Valeska Ormazábal, Estefanía Nova‐Lamperti, Rosana Benítez, Alejandra Rivera, Claudia P. Cortés, Marı́a Teresa Valenzuela, Heriberto García-Escorza, Abel E. Vásquez,
Introduction Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over million deaths worldwide, with more than 61,000 deaths in Chile. The Chilean government has implemented a vaccination program against SARS-CoV-2, with over 17.7 million people receiving a complete vaccination scheme. The final target is 18 million individuals. The most common vaccines used in Chile are CoronaVac (Sinovac) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer-Biotech). Given the global need for vaccine boosters to combat the impact ...
Tópico(s): Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
2023 - Frontiers Media | Frontiers in Public Health