COMPOSITIONS WITH ENHANCED IMMUNOGENICITY AND/OR REDUCED REACTOGENICITY AND METHODS OF USE

摘要

The present invention relates to improved vaccines and the design and making of such vaccines that enhance immunogenicity of the vaccine and/or reduce reactogenicity to the vaccine when administered. In particular the vaccines and immunogenic compositions of the present invention relate to flagellin-antigen fusion proteins in which the spatial orientation of the flageliin to antigen and the charge distribution of the antigen is optimized to enhance immunogenicity and/or reduce reactogenicity. The present invention also relates to methods of evaluating the vaccines by measuring the relative expression of certain gene markers. Altered expression of the genes relative to flageliin control sample may indicate that the vaccine is suitable to stimulate an adaptive immune response to the antigen component in the subject with minimal side effects.