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PMID: 17426010 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Review

Patterns of antigenic diversity and the mechanisms that maintain them.

Journal of the Royal Society, Interface ·Vol. 4 ·No. 16 ·2007-10-22 ·Pages 787-802

Lipsitch M, O'Hagan JJ

Abstract

Many of the remaining challenges in infectious disease control involve pathogens that fail to elicit long-lasting immunity in their hosts. Antigenic variation is a common reason for this failure and a contributor to the complexity of vaccine design. Diversifying selection by the host immune system is commonly, and often correctly, invoked to explain antigenic variability in pathogens. However, there is a wide variety of patterns of antigenic variation across space and time, and within and between hosts, and we do not yet understand the determinants of these different patterns. This review describes five such patterns, taking as examples two bacteria (Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis), two viruses (influenza A and HIV-1), as well as the pathogens (taken as a group) for which antigenic variation is negligible. Pathogen-specific explanations for these patterns of diversity are critically evaluated, and the patterns are compared against predictions of theoretical models for antigenic diversity. Major remaining challenges are highlighted, including the identification of key protective antigens in bacteria, the design of vaccines to combat antigenic variability for viruses and the development of more systematic explanations for patterns of antigenic variation.

MeSH Terms
Antigenic Variation/genetics,immunology Antigens, Bacterial/genetics,immunology Antigens, Viral/genetics,immunology
Chemicals
Antigens, Bacterial Antigens, Viral
Authors & Affiliations
2 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Lipsitch Marc
Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. [email protected]
O'Hagan Justin J
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of the Royal Society, Interface
Abbr.
J R Soc Interface
ISSN
1742-5689
DOI
10.1098/rsif.2007.0229
Email
[email protected]
Published
2007-10-22
Pages
787-802
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
101217269
PMCID
PMC2394542
Subset
IM
Grants
NIAID NIH HHS · R01 AI048935 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · U01 GM076497 · United States
NIAID NIH HHS · 1R01 AI48935 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · 5U01GM076497 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2007.0229 PMC Full Text View journal details
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