WIKIMEDIA, BIGGISHBENWidespread uncontrolled inflammation, multiple organ failure, and death were the results of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection in mice that had been immunized with a vaccine that solely elicited a T helper cell response, according to a report published in Science today (January 15). The results suggest vaccines that activate multiple arms of the immune system are likely to be safest and most effective.
“Immunity works as a system and what [the researchers] have been able to show is that when one tweaks only a single component, it can lead to quite detrimental results,” said immunologist Bruce Walker, director of the Ragon Institute in Cambridge, Massachusettes, who was not involved in the work.
“It’s an important cautionary message,” agreed immunologist Dan Littman of New York University Langone Medical Center, “that in any kind of vaccination one needs to consider the likelihood of getting a balanced immune response.” Littman also was not involved in the study.
T cells that express CD4 proteins on their surface—CD4 T cells—are also known as T helper cells because, in response to a viral infection, they assist in the promotion of a strong antibody response ...
