Sanofi Pasteur Vaxdesign Corporation

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Scripps Research Institute

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Virginia Commonwealth University

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

Whitehead Institute

Vaxdesign Corporation

Sanofi Pasteur Vaxdesign Corp. Et Al.

Conan Li

William L Warren

Russell Higbee

Heather Fahlenkamp

Guzman Sanchez-Schmitz

Anatoly Kachurin

Darrell J Irvine

Eric Mishkin

Donald Drake

Robert Parkhill

John G Tew

Mike Nguyen

Gwendalyn J Randolph

Luis Mosquera

Mohey Eldin M El Shikh

Bruce Torbett

Selva Sukumar

Nir Hacohen

Nir Harcohen

David Moe

Donald Iii Drake

Mohey Eldin El Shikh

The present invention relates to methods of constructing an integrated artificial immune system that comprises appropriate in vitro cellular and tissue constructs or their equivalents to mimic the normal tissues that interact with vaccines in mammals. The artificial immune system can be used to test the efficacy of vaccine candidates in vitro and thus, is useful to accelerate vaccine development and testing drug and chemical interaction with the immune system.

Artificial immune system: methods of use

The present invention incorporates germinal centers (GCs) into three-dimensional (3D) engineered tissue constructs (ETCs). In an embodiment, we have incorporated the GC in the design of an artificial immune system (AIS) to examine immune responses to vaccines and other compounds. Development of an in vitro GC adds functionality to an AIS, in that it enables generation of an in vitro human humoral response by human B lymphocytes that is accurate and reproducible, without using human subjects. The invention also permits evaluation of, for example, vaccines, allergens, and immunogens, and activation of human B cells specific for a given antigen, which can then be used to generate human antibodies. In an embodiment of the present invention the function of the in vitro GC is enhanced by placing FDCs and other immune cells in a 3D ETC; FDCs appear more effective over a longer time (antibody production is sustained for up to about 14 days.

Methods for assaying responses to vaccines

Artificial immune system: methods for making and use

Methods of evaluating an immune response to an antigen

In vitro germinal centers

Growing community of inventors

Los Altos, CA, United States of America

Conan Li