Reversal of age-associated immunosenescence

Age-related immunosenescence in mice can be significantly reduced by blocking the adenosine 2a receptor (A2aR). For the first time, this opens up the possibility of eliminating one of the main causes of vaccine failure in healthy elderly people and of preventing vaccine failure in our particularly vulnerable senior citizens over the age of 70. We are therefore aiming to validate the A2aR pathway both for its potential role in reversing immunosenescence in the elderly and to determine its utility in developing an age-specific pharmacological vaccine adjuvant. Of particular note is that, if successful, already clinically approved human A2aR antagonists could be used in combination with a vaccine for a short period of time to provide more comprehensive immunisation protection to the particularly vulnerable elderly population. The novelty of this TAI project is therefore the re-use of pharmacological A2aR blockade as a suitable adjuvant strategy to induce robust immune responses to already well-established vaccines. This will provide a basis for immune protection of the elderly against infectious respiratory diseases such as seasonal influenza and COVID-19. Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): Prof Dominik Wolf Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): Assistant Professor Nikolaus Thuille