Vaccines, adjuvants and autoimmunity

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Vaccinology
• Autoimmunity

Background:

• Vaccine efficacy relies on T-cell memory.
• Adverse vaccine reactions are typically transient.
• Autoimmune reactions can be elicited by vaccines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evidence linking vaccines and autoimmunity.
• To explore mechanisms of adjuvant-induced autoimmunity.
• To discuss the challenges in establishing epidemiological links.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of experimental models and human patients.
• Analysis of adjuvant effects and autoimmune/inflammatory syndromes.
• Discussion of case reports and epidemiological study limitations.

Main Results:

• Evidence suggests vaccine- and adjuvant-induced autoimmunity in models and humans.
• Autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA syndrome) shares mechanisms with other adjuvant effects.
• Epidemiological studies have failed to establish a definitive link due to limited cases and disease latency.

Conclusions:

• Case reports indicate autoimmune diseases can follow vaccination.
• Establishing epidemiological links is challenging but necessary.
• Vaccinomics may offer future personalized treatment approaches for vaccine-induced autoimmunity.