Since the beginning of human evolution, approximately 3 million years ago to the mid 1700’s, life expectancy has been between 25 and 35 years. Today is more than 80 years. One of the major contributors in the increase in life expectancy has been the use of vaccines in preventing infectious diseases. However, most of the vaccines available today, although very effective, have been developed at the end of last century using conventional technologies. The vaccinology field is evolving very rapidly, with the modern technologies providing alternative ways in designing improved vaccines or new vaccines against infections for which preventive measures do not exist. Today is possible to identify new antigens directly from the genome through a process named “Reverse Vaccinology”. This approach has been instrumental for the discovery of a new vaccine against Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B, a bacterium causing a devastating disease characterized by meningitis and sepsis. NHBA (Neisserial Heparin Binding Protein) fHbp (factor H binding protein), and NadA (Neisseria Adhesin A), combined with Outer Membrane Vesicles derived from the New Zealand outbreak strain NZ98/254 are the basis of the new broadly protective meningococcal serogroup B vaccine, 4CMenB. Studies on the functional and immunological properties of the new MenB antigens have provided many insights in the mechanism of virulence and pathogenesis of meningococcus and have been the basis of a new epidemiological tool (MATS, Meningococcal Antigen Typing System) to evaluate vaccine coverage. This vaccine has been licensed in 38 countries worldwide and shown to be 83% effective in a mass infant immunization campaign in UK.
New frontiers in vaccinology rely on structural biology and human immunology that, by providing the molecular basis of a protective immune response, are guiding the structure-based design of more stable and more immunogenic antigens.