A novel adjuvant complex, tyrosine-MPL, for prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines

Therapeutic vaccination for the treatment of allergy has been used for nearly a century but it is only recently that the mechanisms whereby benefits can be achieved have begun to be identified [Bousquet J, Lockey FR, Malling HJ. Allergy immunotherapy: therapeutic vaccines for allergic diseases. WHO Position Paper. Allergy 1998;53:1–42.]. The induction of blocking antibodies was originally thought to lead to amelioration of allergic symptoms. There is now evidence that a switch from a Th2 (IgE/inflammatory) response to a Th1 biased allergen specific response is part of the answer [Durham SR, Till SJ, Immunologic changes associated with allergen immunotherapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 1998;102:157–64.]. Specific anergy induced by raised IL10 and TGFβ and the induction of regulatory T cells may also be important [Akdis CA, Blaser K, Allergen-specific immunotherapy. Allergy 2000;55:522–30.]. A new adjuvant complex, l -tyrosine-MPL can accelerate these processes.