ワクチン開発の新戦略と今後の方向性

There are still many infectious diseases for which we lack effective vaccines. A vaccine such as measles or polio can be used effectively in developing countries, where mortality from these diseases is still high. The development of vaccines therefore remains an important goal of immunology and recently we saw a shift to a more rational approach, based on a detailed molecular understanding of microbial, viral and parasitic pathogenecity, analysis of the protective host response to pathogenic organisms, and the understanding of the regulation of the immune system to generate effective Tand B-lymphocyte responses. Thus, modern technologies offer rational strategies for the development of new and important vaccines against diseases of public health importance. In this review, such new strategies for vaccine development are introduced, which include recombinant bacterial/viral vaccines, hybrid（chimera）vaccines, subunit vaccines, conjugate vaccines, DISC vaccines, reverse vaccinology, DNA vaccines, dendritic cell vaccines, Heterologous prime-boost vaccination strategy, mucosal vaccines and so on. On the other hand, financial and bioethical impediments make some of the most complicated problems for the realization of the full application of the new technologies in developing countries where many people are still suffering from infectious diseases. We also need to consider and discuss such aspects of vaccine development.

四国医学雑誌 : http://www.tokushima-u.ac.jp/med/research/shikoku_acta_medica.html