Augmentation of human influenza A virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte memory by influenza vaccine and adjuvanted carriers (ISCOMS)

There is a need to improve the ability of subunit vaccines to induce CD8(+) CTL responses in humans, especially for vaccines used to prevent illness b y organisms that undergo antigenic variation at their major neutralizing an tibody sites, e.g., influenza A viruses and human immunodeficiency virus. M urine models have demonstrated the protective role of crossreactive CTL aga inst influenza A virus antigenic drift. We tested the ability of an adjuvan ted carrier (Iscomatrix) to help human antigen-presenting cells present for malin-killed influenza vaccine to human CD8(+) CTL clones in vitro and in v accinated humans. The results of a randomized, double-blind, controlled cli nical study demonstrate that a single dose of a vaccine formulated into Isc om particles increased influenza A virus-specific CTL memory in 50-60% of r ecipients, compared to 5% of the recipients of the standard influenza vacci ne. (C) 1999 Academic Press.