In the latest preclinical study, it was shown that intramuscular immunization with the Chlamydia vaccine candidate elicits an excellent T cell response, in addition to the previously confirmed antibody responses. Achieving this combination of antibodies and T cells indicates that our vaccine candidate generates an effective barrier, which can prevent infection as well as promote clearance of infected cells.
Our studies have to date shown that parenteral immunization generates much stronger antibody responses than mucosal immunization. The latest study shows that vaccination elicits CD4+ and CD8+ T cells capable of recognizing, and potentially also eradicating, Chlamydia-infected cells. In particular, the induction of interferon-gamma-producing CD4+ T cells is potent, and cytokine release profiles are consistent with Th1 responses. These are exactly the type of T cell responses that, along with antibodies, are considered to have the greatest potential to provide protection against chlamydia infection and subsequent complications.
Vaccines that generate T cells can be more effective than conventional antibody vaccines to protect against microbes, which hide inside host cells, as e.g. Chlamydia. The combination of antibodies and T cells thereby creates the conditions to both prevent infection and to cure an already established infection.
”We are very pleased by the strong confirmatory findings so far in this project and that we can induce exactly the type of immune response that is considered important for protection against Chlamydia infection”, says Dr. Karl Ljungberg, Director of Preclinical Development.
Ongoing and planned activities to prepare for the first clinical study on Eurocine Vaccines´ Chlamydia vaccine candidate, planned to begin by the end of 2022, include e.g. further preclinical development, development of an industrially scalable manufacturing process, toxicological testing and manufacture of study products according to GMP.
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