Adjuvants: Classification, Modus Operandi, and Licensing

Author(s)

Apostolico, Juliana de Souza ; Santos Lunardelli, Victoria Alves ; Coirada, Fernanda Caroline ; Boscardin, Silvia Beatriz ; Rosa, Daniela Santoro

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH; v. 2016, p. 16-pg., 2016-01-01.

Abstract

Vaccination is one of the most efficient strategies for the prevention of infectious diseases. Although safer, subunit vaccines are poorly immunogenic and for this reason the use of adjuvants is strongly recommended. Since their discovery in the beginning of the 20th century, adjuvants have been used to improve immune responses that ultimately lead to protection against disease. The choice of the adjuvant is of utmost importance as it can stimulate protective immunity. Their mechanisms of action have now been revealed. Our increasing understanding of the immune system, and of correlates of protection, is helping in the development of new vaccine formulations for global infections. Nevertheless, few adjuvants are licensed for human vaccines and several formulations are now being evaluated in clinical trials. In this review, we briefly describe the most well known adjuvants used in experimental and clinical settings based on their main mechanisms of action and also highlight the requirements for licensing new vaccine formulations. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/11442-4 - Study of protective mechanisms induced by vaccination of mice with fusion antibodies that target the dengue virus proteins to dendritic cells
• Grantee: Silvia Beatriz Boscardin
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/15061-8 - In vivo targetting of HIV- CD4+ t cell epitopes to dendritic cells
• Grantee: Daniela Santoro Rosa
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants