What is it about?
Certain saponin adjuvants, like QS-21, act independently and in different manners on both dendritic cells and T-cells. These saponins provide T-cells with a co-stimulatory signal, and affects the antigen processing by dendritic cells. As a result of these effects, certain saponin adjuvants induce a pro-inflammatory Th1/Th17 immune response that is characterized by production of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) against exogenous antigens
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Why is it important?
The proposed mechanism explains the unique mechanism of action of saponin adjuvants which results in a strong pro-inflammatory immunity, effective in vaccines against pathogens and cancer cell, but damaging in the case where autoimmunity is involved. This is important in the design of vaccines that may induce an autoimmune response, like in the case of Alzheimer's disease vaccine and vaccines to prevent/treat T-cell mediated autoimmune diseases.
Perspectives
While saponin adjuvants, e.g. QS-21, are allowing the development of new and improved vaccines, like the malaria and cancer vaccines; their mechanism of action (MoA) has been unclear, leading to conclusions that may not be correct. I hope that this article would clarify some of the problems associated with these saponins' MoA, and provide some leads about the design of better immune modulators for badly needed vaccines.
Dr Dante Marciani
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Elucidating the Mechanisms of Action of Saponin-Derived Adjuvants, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, June 2018, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2018.03.005.
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