Vaccine & principle of

immunization
 IMMUNITY

Innate Immunity Adaptive Immunity

Humoral
Humoral Cell Mediated Cell Mediated
• B Cells
• Complement • Macrophages • Helper T Cells (CD4)
• Antibodies (made by
• Neutrophils • Natural Killer Cells • Cytotoxic T Cells (CD8)
plasma cells)
 IMMUNIZATION
• Definition : The process of rendering a subject immune, or of
becoming immune.

Active Immunization Passive Immunization

Artifical
Natural Artifical Natural
• Antibody
• Infections • Vaccination • Maternal
transfer
 vaccination
• Vaccination : The act of administering a vaccine
• Vaccine : A suspension of attenuated or killed microorganisms, or
of antigenic proteins derived from them, administered for
prevention, amelioration, or treatment of infectious diseases.
• Vaccination is a way of manipulating the immune system to
provide protection from disease caused by a pathogen without
subjecting the person to the disease.
• Vaccination is brought about by the understanding of
immunological memory
 vaccination
What makes an ideal vaccine?
• Safety. There should be no side-effects from the vaccine and
no risk of procedural errors in vaccine manufacture exposing
individuals to pathogens or their toxic products.
• Stability. Ideally a vaccine should be able to be stored in high
ambient temperatures so that it is available in hot climates
with limited refrigeration facilities.
 vaccination
• Ease of administration. Children, the main target of
vaccination, do not like having needles stuck in them and
therefore oral vaccines are the most suitable form of
administration and also can cut out the cost of materials for
injection.
• Price. Cheapness is obviously desirable and almost essential in
many parts of the world with high rates of endemic disease
and few economic resources.
 vaccination
Types of vaccines:
1. Killed or inactivated pathogen
2. Attenuated pathogen
3. Subunit vaccines
4. Toxoids
5. Recombinant vector vaccines
6. DNA vaccines
7. Peptide vaccines
 1. Killed or inactivated pathogen
• It is used primarily for viruses
• Involves taking the virus and treating it with heat or chemicals so
that it is no longer infectious.
• Examples : Salk vaccine (Used for polio caused by poliovirus.),
influenza, rabies, pertussis.
• Disadvantages : Possibility of some pathogen particles surviving
the killing or inactivation process; this happened with the polio
vaccine in the 1950s and the vaccine caused many cases of polio.
 1. Killed or inactivated pathogen

Jonas Salk
 2. Attenuated pathogen
• Attenuated pathogens are still viable and cause infection but do
not cause disease.
• Achieved by growing the organism in cells of another species so
that the pathogen becomes adapted to cells of the other species
and grows poorly in human cells.
• Examples : Sabin vaccine (Used for polio caused by poliovirus.),
BCG, measles, mumps and tuberculosis.
• Disadvantages : Possibility of reversion to full pathogenicity, either
in the vaccine stock or in the vaccinated individual.
 2. Attenuated pathogen

Albert Sabin
 3. Subunit vaccines
• In some situations an antibody response against a particular component of the pathogen is
sufficient to provide immunity.
• Many bacteria produce a polysaccharide coat that prevents phagocytosis in the absence of
antibody.
• Vaccination with the polysaccharide induces antibody, which is enough to provide immunity.
• Examples : Used against Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis.
• Disadvantages : One problem with these vaccines is that the polysaccharide antigen does
not stimulate Th cells and therefore only IgM is produced. To overcome this, the
polysaccharide can be conjugated to a protein such as tetanus toxoid. The tetanus toxoid
stimulates Th cells, which can help the B cells specific for the polysaccharide to switch to
other antibody classes and make a bigger higher affinity antibody response.
• Subunit vaccines can also be proteins as in the case of the vaccine for hepatitis B, where
immunization with the major surface antigen of the virus, called the HbsAg, induces the
production of protective antibodies.
3. Subunit vaccines
 4. Toxoids
• Where pathogens cause disease almost solely through the
production of toxins it is possible to vaccinate just against the
toxin.
• To prevent the toxic effects of the toxin upon vaccination, the
toxin is treated chemically so that it loses toxicity but retains
antigenicity.
• Examples : Used for tetanus and diphtheria.
4. Toxoids
 5. RECOMBINANT VECTOR VACCINES
• Vaccines in which the genes encoding important antigens for a
pathogen are introduced into the genome of attenuated viruses or
bacteria.
• Examples : introduce the gene for a pathogenic antigen into the
genome of the vaccinia virus, which previously was used for
vaccination against smallpox. The vaccinia virus, in addition to directing
the expression of its own antigens, would also cause expression of the
pathogen’s antigen and stimulate immunity against smallpox (which is
not necessary because natural infection with smallpox should not
occur) and the pathogen.
5. RECOMBINANT VECTOR VACCINES
 6. Dna vaccines
• A somewhat surprising observation led to a new approach for vaccines.
• When muscle cells were exposed to DNA, it was found that they could
take up the DNA and express the proteins coded for by the DNA. This
happens in vivo and provides a mechanism for inducing the production of
a wide variety of proteins including pathogenic antigens.
• In practice the DNA vaccine is in the form of a plasmid. This means that
promoters can be introduced into the plasmid which cause high
production of the pathogen’s protein.
• Advantages : DNA is very stable and does not require refrigerated storage.
6. Dna vaccines
 7. Peptide vaccines
• The type of vaccine that has the potential to be the safest, cheapest and
easiest to store is the peptide vaccine.
• This consists of a synthetic peptide that contains a CD4 T cell epitope and,
depending on the pathogen, a B cell epitope and/or CD8 T cell epitope.
• They can be produced chemically and therefore in bulk, cheaply and,
because they do not involve DNA or the inactivation of toxins, there
should be no risk of accidental exposure to toxins or virulent organisms.
• Disadvantages : Identifying appropriate epitopes and making the peptides
immunogenic. Their development has therefore been slower than
originally hoped.
7. Peptide vaccines
How a vaccine works?
Thank you