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Comment
. 2021 Dec 14;54(12):2695-2697.
doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2021.11.009.

Fatballs foster fabulous follicles

Joanna L Turley  1 , Ed C Lavelle  2
Affiliations
Comment

Fatballs foster fabulous follicles

Joanna L Turley et al. Immunity. .

Abstract

Adjuvants can be incorporated into vaccines to enhance the magnitude and functionality of adaptive immune responses. In this issue of Immunity, Alameh et al. (2021) reveal that lipid nanoparticles, which are key components of effective SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines, have broad adjuvant function, enhancing B cell responses and protective efficacy of protein-based subunit in addition to mRNA antigens.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests E.C.L. is an inventor on patent applications WO2021123430, Polymeric nanoparticles as vaccine adjuvants and New UK Patent Application 2018665.6, Immunotherapy for cancer.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mechanism of action of ionizable lipid nanoparticles Ionizable lipid nanoparticles (iLNPs) are endocytosed by cells at the site of injection or in the draining lymph node. As endosomes acidify, the ionizable lipids of the LNPs become positively charged and interact with negatively charged endosomal membranes. This cationic membrane disruption is a potential DAMP that promotes IL-6 in a MAVS- and MyD88-independent manner. Dendritic cells (DCs) take up antigen at the site of injection or in the draining lymph nodes and promote T follicular helper (Tfh) cell differentiation in the presence of LNP-induced IL-6. Tfh cells promote germinal center B cell (GCBC) formation, somatic hypermutation (SHM) of the B cell receptor, and affinity class switching (ACS). High-affinity B cells go on to form long-lived plasma cells (LLPCs) or memory B cells (MBCs). ICD; immunogenic cell death.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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