Synthetic Glycans to Improve Current Glycoconjugate Vaccines and Fight Antimicrobial Resistance

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Immunology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health crisis, with the WHO and CDC identifying numerous bacteria and fungi as urgent threats.
• Glycoconjugate vaccines have proven effective against various bacterial pathogens.
• Advances in synthetic, chemoenzymatic, and glycoengineering methods enable the creation of complex glycans and glycoconjugates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the advancements in synthetic carbohydrate-based glycoconjugate vaccines for combating AMR.
• To analyze structure-immunogenicity relationships for carbohydrate vaccine targets.
• To identify research gaps and future directions for next-generation synthetic vaccines.

Main Methods:

• Literature survey and analysis of existing data.
• Review of synthetic, chemoenzymatic, and glycoengineering methodologies for glycan assembly.
• Evaluation of structure-immunogenicity relationships in glycoconjugate vaccines.

Main Results:

• Progress in synthetic methodologies facilitates the development of novel glycoconjugate vaccines.
• Understanding structure-immunogenicity relationships is crucial for optimizing vaccine efficacy.
• Carbohydrates offer a unique and exploitable target for vaccine development against AMR.

Conclusions:

• Synthetic carbohydrate-based glycoconjugate vaccines represent a promising avenue to address the AMR pandemic.
• Further research into structure-immunogenicity is needed to fully exploit carbohydrate antigens.
• The development of next-generation synthetic vaccines is critical for future infectious disease control.