Rapamycin an immunosupressive drug boost response of experimental vaccines in animal studies

June 26, 2009 by srrpenna

A common immunosuppressive drug called as Rapamycin commonly used in transplant patients is raising hopes to enhace the effect/response of experimental vaccines. In tests on mice and monkeys, scientists found it enhanced the response of their immune system to experimental vaccines.

Rapamycin seems to work by inhibiting a protein called mTOR, which plays a key role in controlling cell growth. The researchers found that when they switched off mTOR using rapamycin in virus-infected mice, the animals produced a better immune response. In particular, the treatment seemed to boost the number of 'memory' T cells - the cells that are responsible for remembering infections they have encountered before. The Emory team went on to show that rapamycin could improve memory T-cell responses to experimental vaccines in both mice and monkeys. The study suggests that mTOR plays a key role in regulating the generation of memory T cells.

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