Influenza is foremost amongst infectious diseases that are associated with an increased risk for serious complications and death with aging. While annual vaccination is a mainstay of influenza management, vaccine efficacy is only 40 to 60% effective in the elderly population. The population age 65 and older is steadily increasing worldwide and with increased hospitalization and death rates found in the elderly following influenza infection this trend threatens to overwhelm the health care system;a crisis with the looming threat of pandemic influenza. The need for improved vaccine efficacy in the elderly is clear. In this study, we will examine ways to enhance both humoral and cellular immune responses, since both are important for robust protection from influenza infection.
Two specific aims are proposed: 1. Determine which adjuvants can enhance the cognate helper activity of CD4 T cells from aged mice, thus improving Ab production. Using an adoptive transfer model, we will screen adjuvants that enhance the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as TNFoc, IL-1 and IL-6 (T/1/6) following immunization. Our hypothesis is that by enhancing production of these inflammatory cytokines in vivo, we can enhance the cognate helper function of aged CD4 T cells and improve humoral responses. 2. Determine how age-related declines in the cell-mediated immune response to influenza vaccination may be enhanced by adjuvants/virosomes in older adults. We will examine the effects of T/1/6 inflammatory cytokines directly on the function of aged CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in response to adjuvants added to killed virus or virosome vaccines. We will also examine the effects of adjuvants screened in Aim 1 on T cell responses to influenza vaccination, including CTL function. Our hypothesis is that these adjuvants will induce the production of inflammatory cytokines by dendritic cells, thus enhancing the effector functions of T cells from older people. This 5-year proposal will determine how age-related declines in the cell-mediated immune response to influenza vaccination may be enhanced by adjuvants in the elderly with a long-term goal to develop useful immunization strategies aimed at improving vaccine efficacy in the aged. The expected results from these pre-clinical studies is the selection of the most potent virosome and/or other adjuvanted influenza vaccine candidates for clinical trials of interpandemic and pandemic vaccines for older adults.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Research Project--Cooperative Agreements (U01)
Project #
5U01AI074449-03
Application #
7677483
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZAI1-CCH-M (M1))
Program Officer
Kim, Sonnie
Project Start
2007-09-15
Project End
2012-08-31
Budget Start
2009-09-01
Budget End
2010-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$259,726
Indirect Cost
Name
University of British Columbia
Department
Type
DUNS #
251949962
City
Vancouver
State
BC
Country
Canada
Zip Code
V6 1-Z3
McElhaney, Janet E; Coler, Rhea N; Baldwin, Susan L (2013) Immunologic correlates of protection and potential role for adjuvants to improve influenza vaccines in older adults. Expert Rev Vaccines 12:759-66
Behzad, Hayedeh; Huckriede, Anke L W; Haynes, Laura et al. (2012) GLA-SE, a synthetic toll-like receptor 4 agonist, enhances T-cell responses to influenza vaccine in older adults. J Infect Dis 205:466-73
McElhaney, Janet E; Zhou, Xin; Talbot, H Keipp et al. (2012) The unmet need in the elderly: how immunosenescence, CMV infection, co-morbidities and frailty are a challenge for the development of more effective influenza vaccines. Vaccine 30:2060-7
McElhaney, Janet E (2011) Influenza vaccine responses in older adults. Ageing Res Rev 10:379-88
McElhaney, Janet E; Effros, Rita B (2009) Immunosenescence: what does it mean to health outcomes in older adults? Curr Opin Immunol 21:418-24
McElhaney, Janet E (2008) Influenza vaccination in the elderly: seeking new correlates of protection and improved vaccines. Aging health 4:603-613