Infographic: How Vaccines Train Innate Immunity

A recent study elucidates some of the changes that occur in the body after inoculation with a tuberculosis vaccine.

Written byShawna Williams

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While researchers have observed for decades that certain vaccines seem to help recipients ward off more than just the target pathogen, only in recent years have they identified possible mechanisms for these bonus benefits. For example, in a study published this year (depicted here), researchers examined immune cells from the blood and bone marrow of healthy adults before and after they received a live tuberculosis vaccine known as bacille Calmette-Guérin, or BCG.

In the bone marrow post-vaccination, genes are expressed that trigger hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to differentiate into monocytes, neutrophils, and other so-called myeloid cells. In a separate analysis of the effects of BCG in newborns, the researchers found that the vaccine ramped up the number of neutrophils in babies’ blood compared with unvaccinated infants.

Monocytes from the blood displayed epigenetic changes after vaccination that opened chromatin harboring multiple genes involved in driving an ...

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Meet the Author

Shawna Williams
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Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.
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