Activated CD4+ T cells also travel to the site of infection and, via cytokine signals, activate tissue-resident macrophages to become fully active and to destroy phagocytosed antigen/pathogens. Antibodies can enhance the effector functions of innate cells, for example, by enhancing phagocytosis. Soluble antibodies at the site of challenge

can neutralise pathogens directly by binding to their surface. Cytotoxic T cells can directly kill infected tissue/cells via molecular and chemical signalling. These cells can also induce infected cells/phagocytes to kill intracellular pathogens, or can inhibit pathogen replication via chemical and molecular signals. On secondary exposure to the same antigen or pathogen, specific adaptive effectors with a memory phenotype can rapidly proliferate and produce a new wave of adaptive immunity ZD1839 chemical structure at the site of challenge. This pathway can occur independently of further innate immune events and is the basis of vaccination. The coordination of all these phases ensures that a call for help from the periphery is relayed to the regional secondary lymphoid tissues and that appropriate effectors are directed to the site of infection by a series of chemical and molecular signals. This cycle of an immune response forms http://www.selleckchem.com/products/SRT1720.html the basis for the principles of vaccination

(Figure 2.10) and is discussed further in the next section. The modern immunology concepts described in this chapter are of great importance both for the design Idoxuridine of new vaccines and to help us understand why vaccines do – or do not – work as efficiently as desired. Vaccines aim to prevent the disease symptoms that are the consequences of a pathogenic infection. In most cases, this does not occur by completely preventing infection but by limiting the consequences of the infection. As discussed earlier, an understanding of the disease pathogenesis and natural immune control is, therefore, very useful when selecting appropriate antigens

upon which to base a vaccine. Vaccines developed from pathogens can vary in the complexity of the pathogen-derived material they contain. Our understanding of fundamental immunology, as well as the selection techniques used, has resulted in new vaccines that are better characterised than ever before, and has also initiated a more rational approach to vaccine design. The different approaches to antigen selection are discussed in depth in Chapter 3 – Vaccine antigens. The immune system is triggered by a combination of events and stimuli, as described previously. The requirement for more than the presence of a ‘foreign’ antigen to elicit an immune response must therefore always be considered in vaccine design, particularly when using highly purified or refined antigens (see Chapter 3 – Vaccine antigens).