Ulster Immunology Group/British Society for Immunology 50 th anniversary symposium review.
By , Dr. Adrien Kissenpfennig, Queen’s University Belfast.

The Ulster Immunology Group (a regional group of BSI) organised a scientific event to commemorate the 50 th anniversary of the British Society for Immunology, entitled Vaccines – past, present and future at Queen’s University Belfast on the 29 th October 2007 . The Ulster Immunology Group (Chairman Dr Ultan Power, CCRCB) provides a forum for multi-disciplinary scientists in Northern Ireland to foster common interests in the broad area of immunology.

The symposium was opened by Dr Elizabeth Mitchell, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety. The Symposium was chaired by Dr Massimo Gadina (Queen’s University Belfast) and Dr Emeir Duffy ( University of Ulster ). Professor David Salisbury (Director of Immunisation, Department of Health UK ) started the symposium with an informative presentation on the impact of vaccines and the challenges that we face. He presented data highlighting the success of past vaccination programs in the UK such as group B and C Meningococci, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccination, and coincidentally the recent decision to recommend human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine for routine immunisation. He gave an in-depth overview of the process of introducing the HPV vaccination program in the UK highlighting that it is a multi-faceted and difficult task requiring the coordination of a variety of different disciplines (policy makers, marketing, researchers, NHS, manufactures, regulators, parents and health professionals) to implement a successful vaccination program. In particular, he outlined the importance of market research and public education to drive a successful vaccination programme.

The Isla Halliday Memorial Lecture was given by Dr. Rino Rappuoli (Global Head of Vaccine Research, Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics , Italy and a member of the US National Academy of Science) who gave a presentation on current vaccine targets in the pipeline at Novartis. He discussed new approaches to vaccine development, such as “reverse vaccinology” and genome-based vaccines. Due to the availability of genome sequences for a wide variety of different pathogens, potential novel vaccines are now being developed in silico, expressed as recombinant proteins, tested for immunogenicity in vivo and finally introduced into clinical trials. This new approach allows a large number of candidates to be tested and maximizes the amount of potential candidates for clinical trials in a relatively short time period. This approach was utilised to develop a vaccine to provide universal protection against all sub-strains of Group B meningococcal disease.  Roughly, 600 potential vaccines were identified in silico and 5 candidates were introduced into clinical trails in 36 months. He presented data on new adjuvants, such as MF59 (a Squalene-based adjuvant emulsion), which has been already successfully used in a variety of different vaccines for CMV, HSV, Hepatitis B and C, and influenza currently in clinical trials. MF59 is currently being used for the development of an avian influenza vaccine, and was shown to efficiently induce both strong antibody response and memory T cells compared to other adjuvants.

Dr. Ultan Power , (CCRCB Infection and Immunity division, Queen’s University Belfast) discussed future directions for respiratory viral vaccines most notably respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). A major drawback of RSV infection is that it fails to induce long-term immunity in the host. Therefore, further understanding of RSV/host interactions is required to develop effective vaccines to RSV. Certain RSV proteins, such as F and G proteins, have been shown to suppress both the innate and adaptive immune responses. Using the mouse as infection models is not ideal as a single challenge by RSV induces long-term immunity. Dr. Power presented novel ex vivo models which could be utilised to study RSV/host interaction in vitro. Monolayer cultures of human primary bronchial epithelia cells (PBECs) or 3D PBEC cultures could prove to be useful models for infections studies. Another consideration is the choice of viral isolate used, as preliminary studies suggest that infectivity and chemokine responses differ depending on which virus strains are used. Dr. Power proposed the use of low passage RSV clinical isolates rather than laboratory-adapted strains for future infection studies in vitro as a means to better reflect virus/host interactions in the clinic.

The symposium was concluded with a presentation by Professor Kingston Mills, (Professor of Experimental Immunology, Trinity College , Dublin ) on Vaccine concepts of the future. Professor Mills highlighted the need for further development of novel vaccines against cancer, autoimmune and neurological diseases. However, refining 21 st century vaccines will require further understanding and development of new antigen delivery systems, adjuvant immunomodulators and “designer” adjuvants. In developing countries infectious diseases remain the highest cause of mortality. Further research is required in developing new vaccines that are safer, incorporate antigen in artificial delivery systems (eg. MF59), delivered by nasal or oral routes, and target specific immune responses. Dendritic cells bridge the innate and adaptive immune system and direct targeting of DCs is vital to inducing effective immune responses. Professor Mills presented data to illustrate that different adjuvants/delivery systems exhibit polarized effector function. For instance, Alum or Chitosan are effective in producing a Th2 humoral response but poor at inducing Th1 cellular immunity, whereas Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands (e.g. CpG) are effective inducers of Th1 immune responses. This was highlighted by with data from Phase I clinical trials of nasal diphtheria, Bordetella pertussis and influenza vaccines. Professor Mills concluded with an overview of cancer vaccine studies and the need to utilise adjuvant combinations which attenuate regulatory T cells, thus breaking tolerance to tumour antigens and promoting protective immunity.

Overall the UIG was very pleased with the outstanding success of the symposium and the bringing together of around 150 participants from the scientific and clinical community in Northern Ireland, including Queen’s University Belfast, University of Ulster, Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute and the NHS. The symposium provided a forum to reflect on the incredible impact of vaccines, identify current disease indications that may soon be targeted by effective vaccines and also discuss what the future holds for vaccine development to tackle infectious diseases and cancer that remain refractory to vaccine control. We would like to thank the speakers for their contributions and making the time from their busy schedules to participate at this symposium. The Ulster Immunology Group would like to also thank all the sponsors, British Society for Immunology (Ben Stanley), Invitrogen, Becton Dickinson, Ulster Anaesthetics Ltd, Sanofi Pasteur MSD, Prepotech and VHbio, for helping make this such a successful and enjoyable event.

Symposium speakers and chairpersons of the UIG/BSI 50 th anniversary symposium on vaccines.  Left to right: Dr. Ultan Power (Queen’s University Belfast), Dr. Emeir Duffy ( University of Ulster ), Prof. Kingston Mills ( Trinity College , Dublin ), Prof. David Salisbury (Department of Health, UK ), Dr. Liz Mitchell (Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, NI), Dr. Rino Rappuoli (Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics , Italy ) and Dr. Massimo Gadina (Queen’s University Belfast).