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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Carrier proteins coupled to polysaccharides that are extracted from bacterial cell walls are used as vaccines to prevent many infectious
diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis. These glycoconjugate vaccines elicit a T cell response that boosts the production of high-affinity antibodies against the polysaccharide by B
cells. In a study published in _Nature Medicine_, Kasper and colleagues highlight the importance of the carbohydrate component in these vaccines. By maximizing the presentation of
carbohydrate epitopes to T cells, they were able to construct a vaccine against group B streptococcus that is significantly more potent in a neonatal mouse model than currently available
vaccines. GBSIII is depolymerised into smaller glycans in endolysosomes by reactive oxygen species and it undergoes similar processing when coupled to a carrier protein such as ovalbumin
(OVA). Interestingly, following such processing, MHCII-associated carbohydrate was present on the surface of cells incubated with GBSIII-OVA but not on cells incubated with GBSIII alone,
suggesting that peptides derived from the proteolytic digestion of the carrier protein are required to bind the glycan to the MHCII molecule and enable glycan presentation at the cell
surface. The authors were also able to isolate CD4-expressing T cell clones that specifically recognized the carbohydrate portion of the glycoconjugate in the context of MHCII, and secreted
interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-4, which aid antibody production by B cells. Using blocking antibodies against particular T cell receptor subtypes, they showed that this response was mediated by
αβ-T cell receptors. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues
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Avci, F. Y. et al. A mechanism for glycoconjugate vaccine activation of the adaptive immune system and its implications for vaccine design. _Nature Med._ 17, 1602–1609 (2011) Article CAS
Google Scholar Download references Authors * Monica Hoyos Flight View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and
permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Flight, M. Enhancing glycan presentation increases vaccine efficacy. _Nat Rev Drug Discov_ 11, 21 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd3637
Download citation * Published: 16 December 2011 * Issue Date: January 2012 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd3637 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to
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