Outer Membrane Vesicle, A Macromolecule with Multifunctional Activity

  • Human Vaccine & Immunotherapeutics
  • Volume 8, Issue 7, 2012

Arfa Moshiri, Abolfazl Dashtbani-Roozbehani, Shahin Najar Peerayeh, Seyed Davar Siadat

Abstract

Nowadays adjuvants are extensively used as immuno-stimulatory and immuno-modulatory compounds as components of subunit and combination vaccine formulations. The adjuvants of microbial origin are more frequently used among currently used licensed or experimental adjuvants. The outer membrane vesicle (OMV) of Neisseria meningitidis is among the newly studied components of microbial origin, which could be applied as an adjuvant. Although the potency of OMV as a carrier (conjugated to a hapten) is now proven, the adjuvant properties of OMV have particular significance as a potential target for protective immunity. Since it has immune-stimulatory activity, OMV has been utilized in vaccine development. This commentary reviews the different applications of OMV as potential adjuvant in the field of vaccine development.

Keywords

Neisseria meningitidis; adjuvant; outer membrane vesicle; vaccine development