Vaccine Mechanisms

Vaccines exploit the adaptive immune system's capacity for immunological memory to provide long-lasting protection against infectious diseases. Understanding vaccine mechanisms at the cellular level is essential for nursing education, administration safety, and patient counseling. Active immunity through vaccination begins with antigen presentation. When a vaccine antigen enters the body (via injection, oral, or intranasal route), it is captured by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) — primarily dendritic cells at the injection site. APCs process the antigen into peptide fragments and present them on MHC class II molecules to naive CD4+ T-helper cells in regional lymph nodes. This triggers the adaptive immune cascade. CD4+ T-helper cell activation is the central event. Th1 cells release IFN-gamma, activating macrophages and supporting cell-mediated immunity (critical for intracellular pathogens like TB and viruses). Th2 cells produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, driving B-cell differentiation and antibody production (humoral immunity). The Th1/Th2 balance influenced by the vaccine formulation and adjuvant determines the immune response profile. B-cell activation requires two signals: antigen binding to the B-cell receptor (BCR) and co-stimulation from Th2 cells. Activated B-cells undergo clonal expansion and affinity...