β-Glucans Could Be Adjuvants for SARS-CoV-2 Virus Vaccines (COVID-19)

Alfredo Córdova-Martínez, Alberto Caballero-García, Enrique Roche and David C. Noriega
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Alfredo Córdova-Martínez: Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, GIR: “Physical Exercise and Ageing”, University Campus “Los Pajaritos”, Valladolid University, 42004 Soria, Spain
Alberto Caballero-García: Department of Anatomy and Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, GIR: “Physical Exercise and Ageing”, University Campus “Los Pajaritos”, Valladolid University, 42004 Soria, Spain
Enrique Roche: Department of Applied Biology-Nutrition, Institute of Bioengineering, Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain
David C. Noriega: Spine Unit, Department of Surgery, Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Valladolid, 47003 Valladolid, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-13

Abstract: Waiting for an effective treatment against the SARS-CoV-2 virus (the cause of COVID-19), the current alternatives include prevention and the use of vaccines. At the moment, vaccination is the most effective strategy in the fight against pandemic. Vaccines can be administered with different natural biological products (adjuvants) with immunomodulating properties. Adjuvants can be taken orally, complementing vaccine action. Adjuvant compounds could play a key role in alleviating the symptoms of the disease, as well as in enhancing vaccine action. Adjuvants also contribute to an effective immune response and can enhance the protective effect of vaccines in immunocompromised individuals such as the elderly. Adjuvants must not produce adverse effects, toxicity, or any other symptoms that could alter immune system function. Vaccine adjuvants are substances of wide varying chemical structure that are used to boost the immune response against a simultaneously administered antigen. Glucans could work as adjuvants due to their immunomodulatory biological activity. In this respect, β-(1,3)-(1,6) glucans are considered the most effective and safe according to the list issued by the European Commission. Only glucans with a β-(1,3) bond linked to a β-(1,6) are considered modulators of certain biological responses. The aim of this review is to present the possible effects of β-glucans as adjuvants in the efficacy of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Keywords: ?-glucans; COVID-19; immunomodulators; SARS-CoV-2; vaccination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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