Immune modulators with defined molecular targets: cornerstone to optimize rational vaccine design

Area of Science:

• Vaccinology and immunology
• Infectious disease prevention

Background:

• Vaccines are vital for preventing infectious diseases, but many require improved performance or are unavailable for certain diseases.
• Subunit vaccines offer improved safety but often exhibit poor immunogenicity, necessitating the use of adjuvants.
• Despite decades of use, only a few adjuvants are licensed for human application, highlighting a need for new options.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discuss the challenges and advancements in the development of novel vaccine adjuvants.
• To explore new biological targets and immune stimulators for improved vaccine formulations.
• To review promising adjuvants currently in preclinical and clinical development.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on vaccine adjuvants and vaccinology.
• Identification of new biological targets for immune modulation.
• Analysis of preclinical and clinical data for novel adjuvant candidates.

Main Results:

• Advances in immunology have enabled the identification of new targets for adjuvant discovery.
• New candidate adjuvants have been identified, allowing for tailored immune responses.
• Several promising adjuvants are progressing through preclinical and clinical development stages.

Conclusions:

• The development of effective adjuvants is essential for improving existing vaccines and creating new ones.
• Understanding the immune system facilitates the discovery of novel immune stimulators.
• Ongoing research is yielding promising new adjuvants to address unmet needs in vaccinology.