Clinical trial shows novel adjuvant activates different immune subsets

The novel vaccine adjuvant that the INDIGO consortium is developing can induce a broad immune response, postdoctoral scientist Valentino D'Onofrio reported at seminars in the Netherlands and Belgium.

D'Onofrio works at the Center for Vaccinology at Ghent University, a partner in the INDIGO consortium, and shared the preliminary results from a phase 1b clinical study forming part of INDIGO. Researchers analyzed blood samples collected from participants who were vaccinated using the LiteVax adjuvant.

The INDIGO project is testing whether using this novel adjuvant would allow existing vaccines against seasonal influenza to be administered at a reduced dose while improving the vaccines’ efficacy. If successful, this would increase accessibility of the vaccine in India and other regions of the world regarded as low- to middle-income countries. In addition, it could improve immune responses in older adults who generally respond less well to the vaccine than younger people.

As part of the clinical trial, the researchers used single-cell sequencing to pinpoint which immune mechanisms the vaccine had activated. By comparing how these differ from non-adjuvanted vaccines, scientists can determine how to achieve better immune responses.

Sequencing showed the LiteVax adjuvant had differentially activated immune subsets, including dendritic cells, monocytes, and CD8+ T cells.