Vaccines (Oct 2023)

Factors Influencing Microbiota in Modulating Vaccine Immune Response: A Long Way to Go

  • Francesca Romana Ponziani,
  • Gaetano Coppola,
  • Pierluigi Rio,
  • Mario Caldarelli,
  • Raffaele Borriello,
  • Giovanni Gambassi,
  • Antonio Gasbarrini,
  • Rossella Cianci

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101609
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 10
p. 1609

Abstract

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Vaccine immunogenicity still represents an unmet need in specific populations, such as people from developing countries and “edge populations”. Both intrinsic and extrinsic factors, such as the environment, age, and dietary habits, influence cellular and humoral immune responses. The human microbiota represents a potential key to understanding how these factors impact the immune response to vaccination, with its modulation being a potential step to address vaccine immunogenicity. The aim of this narrative review is to explore the intricate interactions between the microbiota and the immune system in response to vaccines, highlighting the state of the art in gut microbiota modulation as a novel therapeutic approach to enhancing vaccine immunogenicity and laying the foundation for future, more solid data for its translation to the clinical practice.

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