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Letter to Editor

Costimulatory molecules as vaccine adjuvants: to 4-1BB or not to 4-1BB?

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 12, pages 508–509 (2015)Cite this article

The concept of vaccine adjuvants arose over a century ago from the astute observation that the ‘antigenic value of diphtheria toxoid was improved by addition of alum'.1 While their discovery was serendipitous, their potential for enhancing immune response against co-inoculated antigens has made them essential to modern day prophylactic inactivated vaccine formulations. Indeed, from being ‘immunology's dirty, little secret' adjuvants have now become a key component of a vaccinologist's armamentarium.

Adjuvants constitute a wide and diverse range of compounds that enhance or influence the immune response to vaccines in one of many ways.2 Bacterial products such as lipopolysaccharide trigger pattern recognition receptors on the surface of innate cells; nucleoside analogs such as R-848 engage endosomal receptors; aluminum salts and oil-based compounds such as MF59, both of which are licensed for clinical use, increase antigen uptake by dendritic cells and enhance immune cell recruitment to the vaccination site. The net result of adjuvant action is production of cytokines, chemokines and expression of costimulatory signals, which potentiate antigen-specific responses. However, as one would predict, adjuvants can have unwanted and potentially harmful side effects due to multiple and unknown cell targets. This necessitates utmost care in the design and selection of vaccine adjuvants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Digestive Diseases, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Khalidur Rahman

  2. Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Smita S Iyer

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  1. Khalidur Rahman
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  2. Smita S Iyer
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Correspondence to Smita S Iyer.

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Rahman, K., Iyer, S. Costimulatory molecules as vaccine adjuvants: to 4-1BB or not to 4-1BB?. Cell Mol Immunol 12, 508–509 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/cmi.2014.90

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