Understanding the immunology of the Zostavax shingles vaccine

Nicole L Sullivan; Christiane S Eberhardt; Andreas Wieland; Kalpit A Vora; Bali Pulendran; Rafi Ahmed

doi:10.1016/j.coi.2019.02.005

Understanding the immunology of the Zostavax shingles vaccine

Curr Opin Immunol. 2019 Aug:59:25-30. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2019.02.005. Epub 2019 Apr 7.

Authors

Nicole L Sullivan¹, Christiane S Eberhardt², Andreas Wieland³, Kalpit A Vora⁴, Bali Pulendran⁵, Rafi Ahmed³

Affiliations

¹ MRL, Department of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA. Electronic address: nicole.sullivan@merck.com.
² Emory Vaccine Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Vaccinology and Neonatal Immunology, Department of Pediatrics and Pathology-Immunology, University Hospitals of Geneva and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
³ Emory Vaccine Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
⁴ MRL, Department of Infectious Diseases and Vaccines, Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA.
⁵ Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection, Department of Pathology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.

PMID: 30970291
DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2019.02.005

Abstract

Zostavax is a live-attenuated varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccine recommended for use in adults >50 years of age to prevent shingles. The main risk factor for the development of shingles is age, which correlates with decreasing cell-mediated immunity. These data suggest a predominant role of T cell immunity in controlling VZV latency. However, other components of the immune system may also contribute. In this review, we will discuss how the immune system responds to Zostavax, focusing on recent studies examining innate immunity, transcriptomics, metabolomics, cellular, and humoral immunity.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Review

MeSH terms

Age Factors
Chickenpox / immunology*
Herpes Zoster / immunology*
Herpes Zoster / prevention & control
Herpes Zoster Vaccine / immunology*
Herpesvirus 3, Human / physiology*
Humans
Immunity, Cellular
Immunity, Humoral
Immunity, Innate
Middle Aged
T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
Transcriptome
Vaccines, Attenuated
Virus Activation / immunology
Virus Latency / immunology

Substances

Herpes Zoster Vaccine
Vaccines, Attenuated

Grants and funding

U19 AI090023/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States