Журнал микробных и биохимических технологий

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Bioprospecting and their Role in the Innovation of Vaccine Adjuvants: Mega Diversity as a Source of Competitiveness

Juan Bueno

Adjuvants are defined as any compound or complex molecular or supramolecular assembly that can increase the immune response when is administered in formulation with an antigen. In this way, adjuvants have the ability of act as immune enhancers, this promotes early innate immune responses which increase the effectiveness enabling antigen recognition. This topic is an important research field due to immunization with purified protein antigens typically results in the induction of a modest antibody response with little or no T-cell response, so required multiple immunizations to obtain an adequate protective response. Vaccine adjuvants is a new and innovative platform that after a century when the only adjuvants licensed for human use were hydroxide and phosphate salts of aluminium are not effective satisfactorily. Recently, natural products have been examined as potential vaccine adjuvants, which makes it an important field of research for the implementation of bioprospecting programs. For example, the plant saponin QS-21, derived from Quillaja saponaria, has shown to be a strongly inductor of antibody responses against cancer antigens in experimental cancer vaccines. Also, bryostatin-1 isolated from bryozoan Bugula neritina have the ability for induce dendritic cell activation enhancing antigen presentation and immune response. In this order of ideas, vaccine adjuvant discovery efforts are an important initiative for avoid antimicrobial drug resistance, control deadly infectious diseases and develop new anticancer strategies; so this line of research is another added value of biodiversity for the solution of the great threats of public health and a great opportunity for megadiverse countries in pharmaceutical global market.