The present invention relates to the fields of medical microbiology and vaccines. In particular the invention relates to a process wherein the spontaneous release of bacterial outer membrane vesicles (OMV) of Gram-negative bacteria is stimulated by application of a dissolved oxygen tension (DOT) that is higher than a physiological DOT. The thus produced OMVs are for use in vaccines. The invention further relates to OMV obtainable by said process, and to a pharmaceutical composition comprising such OMV. The present invention further relates to the use of OMV of the present invention as a medicament in particular for use in a method for eliciting an immune response.

Provided are vaccine compositions and methods against Streptococcus pneumoniae. The composition comprises liposomes which have polysaccharides from one or more serotypes and have proteins non-covalently attached to the surface and exposed to the exterior.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing a live attenuated vaccine by irradiation and a live attenuated vaccine composition prepared by the same, and more particularly, a method of preparing a live attenuated vaccine by irradiation including irradiating a pathogenic microorganism with a dose of 0.5 to 2 kGy of radiation per single radiation six to fifteen times; and a live attenuated vaccine composition including a pathogenic microorganism attenuated to not be revertant to a wild type by generation of at least one mutation of nucleotide insertion and nucleotide deletion by irradiation.

Described is a vaccine composition comprising an effective amount of at least one polypeptide selected from the group of IdeSsuis, rIdeSsuis, an analogue or a fragment thereof, or a polynucleotide encoding the same. This vaccine composition is used in the prophylactic, metaphylactic or therapeutic treatment of a Streptococcus suis infections in pigs or humans.

The present invention provides a glycoconjugate for administration to a subject in a method comprising the steps of: (i) administering a first dose of glycoconjugate; (ii) subsequently administering a second dose of glycoconjugate; wherein the amount of glycoconjugate in the first dose or first and second doses are atypically low, and also related aspects.

The present invention relates to new conjugated capsular saccharide antigens (glycoconjugates), immunogenic compositions comprising said glycoconjugates and uses thereof.

The present invention relates to new conjugated capsular saccharide antigens (glycoconjugates), immunogenic compositions comprising said glycoconjugates and uses thereof.

Recurrent tonsillitis disease (RT) is a common indication for pediatric tonsillectomy, the most frequent childhood surgery. It is unknown why some children develop RT. The present disclosure demonstrates that RT tonsils exhibit significantly smaller germinal centers than non-RT tonsils, concomitant with a bias against Group A Streptococcus (GAS)-specific germinal center follicular helper CD4.sup.+ T cells (GC Tfh), and significantly reduced antibodies to the GAS virulence factor SpeA. The present disclosure also shows a significant immunogenetic component to this disease, with the identification of ‘at risk’ and ‘protective’ HLA alleles for RT. Finally, the present disclosure identifies a new cell type, granzyme B+GC Tfh cells, which are activated by SpeA, are significantly more abundant in RT GC Tfh cells, and have the capacity to kill B cells, thus, providing a window into the immunology and genetics of a classic childhood disease and identifies a new type of pathogenic T cell.

Compositions and methods are provided for reducing the mammalian transmission of Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) through the administration to mammalian subjects of vaccine compositions comprising at least one immunogenic polypeptide comprising a S. pneumoniae protein or a fragment or variant thereof that is required for or involved in transmission of the bacteria between mammalian hosts. These vaccine compositions also serve to reduce the incidence rate of at least one invasive disease caused by S. pneumoniae. Methods are also provided for identifying additional genetic factors involved in mammalian transmission of S. pneumoniae.

A composition contains at least one probiotic or enzyme selected from the group consisting of (i) a probiotic having β-glycosidase activity or a β-glycosidase, (ii) a probiotic having esterase activity or an esterase, (iii) a probiotic having both β-glycosidase activity and esterase activity or an enzyme having both β-glycosidase activity and esterase activity, (iv) a first probiotic having β-glycosidase activity and a second probiotic having esterase activity, (v) a probiotic having β-glycosidase activity and an esterase, (vi) a β-glycosidase and a probiotic having esterase activity and (vii) a β-glycosidase and an esterase. The at least one probiotic can form one or more of oleuropein aglycone, elenolic acid, hydroxytyrosol acetate or hydroxytyrosol from oleuropein. The composition can comprise oleuropein. The composition can be for treating or preventing impaired mobility in an older adult; stimulating bone formation and/or inhibiting bone resorption; treating or preventing synovitis in an individual in need or at risk thereof or treating or preventing articular cartilage degradation subsequent to synovitis in an individual having or recovering from synovitis; or preventing or treating cartilage breakdown.