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Title: Ageing and the response to mRNA-LNP vaccination
Speaker: Dr Michelle Linterman, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, New Zealand and Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK
Host: Dr James Thaventhiran
Location: Seminar Room, Gleeson Building
Abstract:
Most vaccines provide protection by generating long-lived antibody-secreting plasma cells that block the ability of a pathogen to establish an infection. The production of vaccine-specific antibody can occur via the germinal centre response, a specialised microenvironment that produces memory B cells and long-lived antibody secreting plasma cells. With advancing age, the magnitude of germinal centre response declines, resulting in decreased production of long-lived high-affinity plasma cells, decreased serum antibody levels after vaccination, and thus impaired protection against subsequent infection. We have established a influenza A virus mRNA-LNP vaccination and efficacy testing pipeline to: 1) Understand age-related changes that contribute to impaired germinal centre formation and function. 2) Test inventions to improve vaccine effectiveness in the context of ageing.
Biography:
Michelle Linterman is Programme Leader at the Malaghan Institute (Aotearoa New Zealand) and an Associate Group Leader at Babraham Institute (United Kingdom). Her laboratory’s research focus is on how different cell types collaborate in the germinal centre to generate a robust antibody response following vaccination and infection. Her team’s work combines research in mice, with human studies to enable us to deliver mechanistic insight into the germinal centre response that is of direct relevance to human health.
Recent publications:
- Lung B cells in ectopic germinal centers undergo affinity maturation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Apr 8;122(14):e2416855122.
- B Cells from Aged Mice Do Not Have Intrinsic Defects in Affinity Maturation in Response to Immunization. Journal of Immunology. 2023 Nov 15.
- Spatial dysregulation of T follicular helper cells impairs vaccine responses in aging. Nature Immunology. 2023 May 22.
- Tfh cells and the germinal center are required for memory B cell formation & humoral immunity after ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccination. Cell Reports Medicine. 2022 Dec 20;3(12):100845
- Targeting TLR4 during vaccination boosts MAdCAM-1+ lymphoid stromal cell activation and promotes GC responses in aging. Science Immunology. 2022 May 6;7(71):eabk0018.