Adjuvant raised immune responses in aged mice to levels akin to those in younger mice.

Tuesday, August 6, 2024 COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Adjuvant Amplifies Immune Responses in Aged Mice Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (red and yellow) within endosomes of a heavily infected epithelial cell. Image captured at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Credit: NIAID Vaccine-based protection from COVID-19 wanes over time, especially in older adults. To address this problem, NIAID-supported researchers added mRNA encoding immune protein IL-12 to a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, raising immune responses in aged mice to levels akin to those seen in young adult mice. IL-12 is important for responding well to vaccination, but natural production of this protein declines as people and mice age. For safety, researchers designed the additional mRNA, or adjuvant, so only the muscle where it is injected makes the protein. These findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, could mark a step toward better COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for older adults. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases  |  National Institutes of Health Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact Subscriber Help. Your subscription may be removed if you do not open our emails for a six-month period.  This service is provided to you at no charge by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).                             This email was sent to myhcistech.healthnews360@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · 5601 Fishers Lane · Bethesda, MD 20892 · 1-866-284-4107