Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Apr 16;3(2):320-43.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines3020320.

Vaccine Adjuvants: from 1920 to 2015 and Beyond

Alberta Di Pasquale  1 , Scott Preiss  2 , Fernanda Tavares Da Silva  3 , Nathalie Garçon  4
Affiliations
Review

Vaccine Adjuvants: from 1920 to 2015 and Beyond

Alberta Di Pasquale et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

The concept of stimulating the body's immune response is the basis underlying vaccination. Vaccines act by initiating the innate immune response and activating antigen presenting cells (APCs), thereby inducing a protective adaptive immune response to a pathogen antigen. Adjuvants are substances added to vaccines to enhance the immunogenicity of highly purified antigens that have insufficient immunostimulatory capabilities, and have been used in human vaccines for more than 90 years. While early adjuvants (aluminum, oil-in-water emulsions) were used empirically, rapidly increasing knowledge on how the immune system interacts with pathogens means that there is increased understanding of the role of adjuvants and how the formulation of modern vaccines can be better tailored towards the desired clinical benefit. Continuing safety evaluation of licensed vaccines containing adjuvants/adjuvant systems suggests that their individual benefit-risk profile remains favorable. Adjuvants contribute to the initiation of the innate immune response induced by antigens; exemplified by inflammatory responses at the injection site, with mostly localized and short-lived effects. Activated effectors (such as APCs) then move to draining lymph nodes where they direct the type, magnitude and quality of the adaptive immune response. Thus, the right match of antigens and adjuvants can potentiate downstream adaptive immune responses, enabling the development of new efficacious vaccines. Many infectious diseases of worldwide significance are not currently preventable by vaccination. Adjuvants are the most advanced new technology in the search for new vaccines against challenging pathogens and for vulnerable populations that respond poorly to traditional vaccines.

Keywords: adaptive immune response; adjuvant; immune response; immunogenicity; innate immune response; safety; vaccine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Balancing immunogenicity and tolerability.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The role of the innate immune response.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Licensed vaccines with or without adjuvant.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The immune response to vaccination with and without adjuvant.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Challenges for modern vaccine development.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Characterization of safety from the laboratory to licensure and beyond
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Gross C.P., Sepkowitz K.A. The myth of the medical breakthrough: Smallpox, vaccination, and Jenner reconsidered. Int. J. Infect. Dis. IJID Off. Publ. Int. Soc. Infect. Dis. 1998;3:54–60. - PubMed
    1. Strugnell R., Zepp F., Cunningham A.L., Tantawhichien T. Vaccine antigens. Underst. Mod. Vaccines Perspect. Vaccinol. 2011;1:61–88. doi: 10.1016/j.pervac.2011.05.003. - DOI
    1. WHO Global Vaccine Action Plan 2011–2020. [(accessed on 23 October 2014)]. Available online: http://www.who.int/immunization/global_vaccine_action_plan/GVAP_doc_2011...
    1. Zepp F. Principles of vaccine design-Lessons from nature. Vaccine. 2010;28:C14–C24. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.07.020. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bonanni P., Santos J. Vaccine evolution. Underst. Mod. Vaccines Perspect. Vaccinol. 2011;1:1–24. doi: 10.1016/j.pervac.2011.05.001. - DOI