The field of vaccine development is one of the first to benefit from the new technologies of genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics. The complete genome sequences of many bacteria are available and comparisons of pathogenic strains with non-pathogenic relatives are becoming common. Vaccines can now be targeted towards specific gene products that traditional vaccine research failed to discover. This book describes the current status of this field and summarizes the various strategies that are delivering results.

The introductory section provides an overview of vaccine research and looks at how genomics can complement traditional approaches. The second section focuses on advanced technologies, such as genome sequence analysis, microarrays, proteomics and high-throughput cloning.

The third section constitutes the unique part of this book, with six chapters that describe the application of genomic and proteomic techniques in the search for new antibacterial vaccines. The target pathogens include meningococcus B, streptococci, chlamydia and Pseudomonas.

Infectious diseases are once again threatening the health of human populations, even in countries where they were thought to have been controlled. With the spread of antibiotic resistance, the concept of prevention rather than cure becomes ever more important. The new genomic approaches described in this book will help to accelerate vaccine development and benefit the health of millions of people worldwide.

Genomics, Proteomics and Vaccines is of interest to all those working in vaccine discovery and development in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as in academic institutions.

Contents

1. Introduction
   1. Vaccination: Past, Present and Future
   2. Bioinformatics, DNA Microarrays and Proteomics in Vaccine Discovery: Competing or Complementary Technologies?

2. Technologies
   3. Genome Sequencing and Analysis
   4. Understanding DNA Microarrays: Sources and Magnitudes of Variances in DNA Microarray Data Sets
   5. The proteome, Anno Domini Two Zero Zero Three
   6. Mass Spectrometry in Proteomics
   7. High Throughput Cloning, Expression and Purification Technologies

3. Applications
   8. Meningococcus B: from Genome to Vaccine
   9. Vaccines Against Pathogenic Streptococci
   10. Identification of the 'Antigenome'–a Novel Tools for Design and Development of Subunit Vaccines Against Bacterial Pathogens
   11. Searching the Chlamydia Genomes for New Vaccine Candidates
   12. Proteomics and Anti-Chlamydia Vaccine Discovery
   13. Proteome Analysis of Other Membrane and Extracelular Proteins from Pseudomonas aeruginosa for vaccine Discovery

Index

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