Glycoconjugate vaccines—such as those targeting some bacteria—couple a glycan to a protein to provide T cell help to B cells and induce polysaccharide-specific IgGs. T cell help has been thought to be conferred by recognition of the protein portion by T cells. Dennis Kasper and his colleagues now report that a glycan-peptide conjugate can induce T cells specific for the glycan moiety, which could help inform future glycoconjugate vaccine development.
- Fikri Y Avci
- Xiangming Li
- Dennis L Kasper