University of Tampere

A novel technique for rapid antigen display on a bacterial surface is presented, which involves surface biotinylation followed by exposure to proteins of interest in fusion with monomeric avidin. Loading BCG with selected antigens successfully improves its immunogenicity, suggesting that surface decoration can replace traditional genetic approaches.

This protocol introduces a simple two-step method for differentiating corneal limbal epithelial stem cells from human pluripotent stem cells under xeno- and feeder cell-free culture conditions. The cell culture methods presented here enable cost-efficient, large-scale production of clinical quality cells applicable to corneal cell therapy use.

Here, we present a protocol to model human tuberculosis in an adult zebrafish using its natural pathogen Mycobacterium marinum. Extracted DNA and RNA from the internal organs of infected zebrafish can be used to reveal the total mycobacterial loads in the fish and the host's immune responses with qPCR.

Here we describe a protocol for the immunization of the adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) with a DNA-based vaccine and demonstrate the validation of a successful vaccination event. This method is suitable for the preclinical screening of vaccine candidates in various infection models.

Zebrafish embryos are used for evaluating the toxicity of chemical compounds. They develop externally and are sensitive to chemicals, allowing detection of subtle phenotypic changes. The experiment only requires a small amount of compound, which is directly added to the plate containing embryos, making the testing system efficient and cost-effective.