Drug May Boost Vaccine Responses in Older Adults

A study published in eLife shows a drug that increases the purgation of cellular debris in immune cells may boost the protective effects of vaccines in older adults, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers looked at immune cell samples from young and older people participating in clinical trials for vaccines against the respiratory syncytial virus and the hepatitis C virus. They determined that autophagy increases in T cells from younger people after receiving vaccines, but not in older people. Lab analysis of T cells from the older individuals revealed that these cells have less of the natural compound spermidine, which boosts autophagy and T-cell function. Supplementing these older immune cells with spermidine raised autophagy to the same levels seen in T cells from younger subjects. "Our work suggests that boosting autophagy during vaccination may help make vaccines more effective for older people," said Ghada Alsaleh of the University of Oxford.