Mechanisms of vaccines against viral infections

Abstract

In this thesis, studies have been performed on the different mechanisms of synthetic vaccines for viral infections. Vaccines induce an immune response in the body against a part of a specific virus (epitope) and during this response memory cells are induced. If the human body is infected by the specific virus, memory immune cells can respond more rapid and powerful compared to the initial immune response. In this way, vaccines protect against viral infections and provide lower disease burden. Current vaccines are mainly focused on the induction of B cells producing antibodies. In this thesis, studies have been performed investigating synthetic vaccines against Cytomegalovirus and SARS-CoV-2, mainly focusing on vaccines inducing a T cell response. T cells can recognize and kill virus-infected cells. One important outcome of this thesis, is that a synthetic vaccine consisting of one T cell epitope can result in protection against SARS-CoV-2 in animals. Furthermore, other studies show the importance of inducing both a B cell and T cell response with synthetic vaccines. The joint results of this thesis provide insight into the mechanisms of synthetic vaccines in their protection against viruses, which can be used for future vaccine development.