Michael Vajdy
Co-founder Principal and Chief Scientific Officer Mucosal Immunologist and Vaccinologist EpitoGenesis, Inc. USA
Title: Immunomodulatory Properties of Vitamins and Flavonoids as Vaccine adjuvants Against Infectious Diseases
Biography
Biography: Michael Vajdy
Abstract
During the past decades, Immunologists and Vaccinologists have used in vitro and in vivo models to identify and characterize immunomodulating activities of potential vaccine adjuvants and delivery systems. Intense research in vaccine adjuvant discovery has focused on toll like receptors, mutant toxins and viral and bacterial vectors. However, recent evidence suggests that nutritive components such as vitamins and a subclass of polyphenols also possess immunomodulating properties without the potential toxic side effects of mimicking danger signals in traditional adjuvant research. We have designed a chemically well-defined and GMP-manufacturable Nutritive Immune-enhancing Delivery System (NIDS), as a nano-emulsion, composed of a combination of two vitamins, and a plant based polyphenol in various delivery systems including organic and inorganic pharmaceutically acceptable carriers. We present in vitro and in vivo data to demonstrate paradoxical immunomodulating activities of select vitamins and polyphenols compared to well-known adjuvants. We further demonstrate significant enhancement of adaptive local and systemic immune responses, in the absence of typical proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, following mucosal and systemic vaccinations with NIDS and compared to the responses following vaccinations with other licensed or in development vaccine adjuvants and delivery systems. Furthermore, we demonstrate that our adjuvant’s mechanism of action is through the action of a single cytokine and its receptor. Our results demonstrate a safer approach to vaccine adjuvant design with the potential to open a new era in the design and development of safe and effective future vaccines.
