Trends Immunol. 2025 Mar 19:S1471-4906(25)00055-9. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2025.02.012. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
The devastating impact of respiratory infections demonstrates the critical need for novel prophylactic vaccines. In this opinion article, we advocate for bacterial immunotherapies as a complementary tool in our fight against respiratory infections. These immunotherapies can activate a wide spectrum of immunological mechanisms, with trained immunity (TI) being particularly significant. This phenomenon has led to the concept of trained immunity-based vaccines (TIbVs), which represent a novel approach in vaccinology. We discuss examples of TIbVs, including the tuberculosis vaccine Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and the polybacterial immunotherapy MV130. From our viewpoint, illustrating the mode of action and clinical evidence supports the proposal that TIbVs should be considered as next-generation vaccines to confer protection against a wide range of respiratory infections.
PMID:40113536 | DOI:10.1016/j.it.2025.02.012