Chapter 19

Vaccines
Dr. Capers
 Kindt • Goldsby • Osborne

Kuby IMMUNOLOGY
Sixth Edition

Chapter 19
Vaccines

Copyright © 2007 by W. H. Freeman and Company

 Discipline of Immunology
○ Early roots in vaccination trials of Edward
Jenner and Louis Pasteur

○ Working vaccines
 Diptheria
 Measles
 Mumps
 Poliomyelitis
 Tetanus

Cases of polio have dramatically declined since vaccination

 Vaccines are still
needed against
many diseases

 Vaccines that are

available need to be
administered
○ There are people that
are choosing not to
vaccinate……could
potentially create
scary scenario in
future
Developing a vaccine
 Lots of research
○ Time consuming, costly
○ Idea is to isolate a component of the organism
that proves to be immunogenic….sometimes
not possible
 Human trials are strictly regulated
 Might have vaccine developed but there
might be adverse side effects – can’t be
used…
 Immunity can be achieved by active or
passive immunization
○ Passive – transfer of preformed antibodies
- Maternal antibodies to fetus
- Antibody therapy for bites, immunodeficiency
○ Active – long term protection, immunologic
memory, actual exposure
- Coming into contact with any foreign substance
- vaccines
 There is a chance of
side effects in small
# of population
○ That is the case with
any treatment/drug
○ However, if the
benefits to the
population out-weigh
the risk of side
effects, vaccines
must be used to
protect the majority of
the population
○ HERD IMMUNITY
Designing Effective Vaccine
 Protective immunity must be achieved
○ Must pay attention to how the antigen
activates the humoral and cell-mediated
branches
 Must produce immunologic memory
○ Vaccine that produces primary response but
fails to produce secondary response is not
effective
Live, Attenuated Vaccines
 Microorganisms can be attenuated so
that they lose ability to cause significant
disease
○ Retain capacity for growth in host
○ Bacteria is grown for prolonged period in
adverse conditions
- Those that survive will not be suited to grow in
“better” conditions in host
Live, Attenuated Vaccines
 Advantages  Disadvantages
○ Can grow in host
therefore producing
immunologic memory
with only single
vaccination
 Good for distribution in
Third World contries
○ Possibility that it will
revert to virulent form
 Polio – 1 in 2.4 million
chance this will happen
○ Complications
 Measles vaccine –
encephalitis
 Out of 75 million patients
between 1970 and 1993,
only 48 cases
○ Danger from remaining
un-vaccinated and
getting disease is much
greater than
complications to these
proven vaccines
Inactivated or “killed” vaccines
 Inactivation of pathogen by heat or
chemical means
○ Not capable of replication in host
○ Epitopes have to be maintained after killing
process
 Often require boosters
 Risks
○ Pathogen has to be grown in large #’s prior to
inactivation – individuals involved in
manufacturing are at risk
Subunit Vaccines
 Purified macromolecules derived from
pathogens
 Toxoids
○ Some bacteria are pathogenic because of
exotoxins that they produce
○ Purify exotoxin, inactivate it with formaldehyde
to form toxoid that can be used to immunize
 Bacterial polysaccharide capsules
 Viral glycoproteins are candidates
○ Little success so far
Conjugate Vaccines
 Polysaccharide
vaccines unable to
activate TH cells
○ Activate B cells in
thymus-independent
manner
○ IgM production but no
class switching, no
memory
 Conjugate to protein
carrier that is
considerably more
immunogenic
DNA Vaccines