Immunogenicity
- August 9, 2021
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Immunogenicity
Subject: Science and Technology
Context: A combination of Covishield and Covaxin elicits better immunogenicity than two doses of the same vaccine, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said on Sunday.
Concept:
- The council released its findings which suggest that immunisation with a combination of an adenovirus vector platform-based vaccine followed by an inactivated whole virus vaccine was not only safe but also elicited better immunogenicity.
- A homologous prime-boost approach was followed.
- The pre-print report titled “Serendipitous COVID-19 Vaccine-Mix in Uttar Pradesh, India: Safety and Immunogenicity Assessment of a Heterologous Regime, the findings have an important implication for the COVID-19 vaccination programme wherein heterologous immunisation will pave the way for induction of improved and better protection against the variant strains of SARS-CoV-2.
Immunogenicity
- Immunogenicity is the ability of a foreign substance, such as an antigen, to provoke an immune response in the body of a human or other animal.
- It results from biomaterial being detected by the body’s immune system as a foreign object.
- A biochemical cascade then occurs, whereby T-helper cells(these are arguably the most important cells in adaptive immunity, as they are required for almost all adaptive immune responses) migrate towards the biomaterial. This immune response can result in rejection of the biomaterial, and non-union between the biomaterial and the wound site.
It is of two types:
- Wanted immunogenicity: It is used in case of vaccines, where the injection of an antigen (the vaccine) provokes an immune response against the pathogen (virus, bacteria), protecting the organism from future exposure.
- Unwanted immunogenicity: It is an immune response by an organism against a therapeutic antigen (ex. recombinant protein, or monoclonal antibody). This reaction leads to production of anti-drug-antibodies (ADAs)inactivating the therapeutic effects of the treatment and, in rare cases, inducing adverse effects.