The development, clinical advancement and licensure of vaccines, and monitoring of vaccine effectiveness could be expedited and simplified by the ability to measure immunological endpoints that can predict a favorable clinical outcome. Antigen-specific and functional antibodies have been described in the context of naturally acquired immunity and vaccination against Shigella, and their presence in serum has been associated with reduced risk of disease in human subjects. The relevance of these antibodies as correlates of protective immunity, their mechanistic contribution to protection (e.g. target antigens, interference with pathogenesis, and participation in microbial clearance), and factors that influence their magnitude and makeup (e.g. host age, health condition, and environment) are important considerations that need to be explored. In addition to facilitating vaccine evaluation, immunological correlates of protection could be useful for identifying groups at risk and advancing immune therapies. Herein we discuss the precedent and value of functional antibodies as immunological endpoints to predict vaccine efficacy and the relevance of functional antibody activity to evaluate protective immunity against shigellosis.
Keywords: Functional antibodies; Shigella; correlates of protection; protective immunity; threshold of protection; trials for developing countries; vaccinology.