scholarly journals “World in motion” – emulsion adjuvants rising to meet the pandemic challenges

npj Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek T. O’Hagan ◽  
Robbert van der Most ◽  
Rushit N. Lodaya ◽  
Margherita Coccia ◽  
Giuseppe Lofano

AbstractEmulsion adjuvants such as MF59 and AS03 have been used for more than two decades as key components of licensed vaccines, with over 100 million doses administered to diverse populations in more than 30 countries. Substantial clinical experience of effectiveness and a well-established safety profile, along with the ease of manufacturing have established emulsion adjuvants as one of the leading platforms for the development of pandemic vaccines. Emulsion adjuvants allow for antigen dose sparing, more rapid immune responses, and enhanced quality and quantity of adaptive immune responses. The mechanisms of enhancement of immune responses are well defined and typically characterized by the creation of an “immunocompetent environment” at the site of injection, followed by the induction of strong and long-lasting germinal center responses in the draining lymph nodes. As a result, emulsion adjuvants induce distinct immunological responses, with a mixed Th1/Th2 T cell response, long-lived plasma cells, an expanded repertoire of memory B cells, and high titers of cross-neutralizing polyfunctional antibodies against viral variants. Because of these various properties, emulsion adjuvants were included in pandemic influenza vaccines deployed during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, are still included in seasonal influenza vaccines, and are currently at the forefront of the development of vaccines against emerging SARS-CoV-2 pandemic variants. Here, we comprehensively review emulsion adjuvants, discuss their mechanism of action, and highlight their profile as a benchmark for the development of additional vaccine adjuvants and as a valuable tool to allow further investigations of the general principles of human immunity.

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1109
Author(s):  
Kristin B. Wiggins ◽  
Maria A. Smith ◽  
Stacey Schultz-Cherry

The current pandemic has brought a renewed appreciation for the critical importance of vaccines for the promotion of both individual and public health. Influenza vaccines have been our primary tool for infection control to prevent seasonal epidemics and pandemics such as the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus pandemic. Certain high-risk populations, including the elderly, people with obesity, and individuals with comorbidities such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, are more susceptible to increased disease severity and decreased vaccine efficacy. High-risk populations have unique microenvironments and immune responses that contribute to increased vulnerability for influenza infections. This review focuses on these differences as we investigate the variations in immune responses to influenza vaccination. In order to develop better influenza vaccines, it is critical to understand how to improve responses in our ever-growing high-risk populations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1136-1144
Author(s):  
Won Suk Choi ◽  
Min Joo Choi ◽  
Ji Yoon Noh ◽  
Joon Young Song ◽  
Woo Joo Kim ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Ana Katherine Gonçalves

AbstractThe COVID-19 outbreak is increasing around the world in the number of cases, deaths, and affected countries. Currently, the knowledge regarding the clinical impact of COVID-19 on maternal, fetal, and placental aspects of pregnancy is minimal. Although the elderly and men were the most affected population, in previous situations, such as the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and the Ebola epidemic, pregnant women were more likely to develop complications than nonpregnant women. There are unanswered questions specific to pregnant women, such as whether pregnant women are more severely affected and whether intrauterine transmission occurs. Additional information is needed to inform key decisions, such as whether pregnant health care workers should receive special consideration, whether to separate infected mothers and their newborns, and whether it is safe for infected women to breastfeed.


Antibodies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Yulia Desheva ◽  
Tatiana Smolonogina ◽  
Svetlana Donina ◽  
Larisa Rudenko

Background: Currently, the immunogenicity of influenza vaccines is assessed by detecting an increase of hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies. As neuraminidase (NA)-based immunity may be significant in protecting against influenza infection, detection of neuraminidase inhibiting (NI) antibodies may improve the assessment of the immunogenicity of influenza vaccines. Methods: We investigated the immune response to NA in people after immunization with live influenza vaccines (LAIVs). A number of A/H7NX or A/H6NX viruses were used to detect NI antibodies, using an enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA). Results: Seasonal LAIV immunization stimulated an increase in NI antibodies not only to homologous A/H1N1 influenza, but also to A/H1N1pdm09 and A/H5N1 influenza. After A/17/California/09/38 (H1N1) pdm09 LAIV vaccination, there was no statistical relationship between post-vaccinated antibody seroconversion and two surface glycoproteins in serum samples obtained from the same individuals (p = 0.24). Vaccination with LAIV of H5N2, H2N2, H7N3, and H7N9 subtypes led to 7%–29.6% NI antibody seroconversions in the absence of HI antibody conversions. There was relatively low coordination of hemagglutinin (HA) and NA antibody responses (r = 0.24–0.59). Conclusions: The previously noted autonomy for HI and NI immune responses was confirmed when assessing the immunogenicity of LAIVs. Combining the traditional HI test with the detection of NI antibodies can provide a more complete assessment of LAIV immunogenicity.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Mena ◽  
Martha I Nelson ◽  
Francisco Quezada-Monroy ◽  
Jayeeta Dutta ◽  
Refugio Cortes-Fernández ◽  
...  

Asia is considered an important source of influenza A virus (IAV) pandemics, owing to large, diverse viral reservoirs in poultry and swine. However, the zoonotic origins of the 2009 A/H1N1 influenza pandemic virus (pdmH1N1) remain unclear, due to conflicting evidence from swine and humans. There is strong evidence that the first human outbreak of pdmH1N1 occurred in Mexico in early 2009. However, no related swine viruses have been detected in Mexico or any part of the Americas, and to date the most closely related ancestor viruses were identified in Asian swine. Here, we use 58 new whole-genome sequences from IAVs collected in Mexican swine to establish that the swine virus responsible for the 2009 pandemic evolved in central Mexico. This finding highlights how the 2009 pandemic arose from a region not considered a pandemic risk, owing to an expansion of IAV diversity in swine resulting from long-distance live swine trade.


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