Table 1 Advantages and disadvantages of trained immunity in combating infectious diseases
From: Trained immunity: a revolutionary immunotherapeutic approach
Points | Advantages | Disadvantages | Diseases/Infection | Differences between innate and adaptive immunity | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Disease | Broad protection against infectious diseases | Potential for autoimmune reactions | Tuberculosis, Influenza, COVID-19, Candidiasis | Enhanced innate memory response, unlike adaptive immunity | |
Immune response | Quick defence against pathogens and reduce viremia | Risk of chronic inflammation | General immunity against bacteria, viruses, fungi | Enhances innate response; adaptive immunity relies on T- and B-cell memory | |
Infection | Reduces severity, duration, and long-lasting effects of vaccines | Possible tolerance leading to reduced response | Recurrent bacterial or viral infections | Provides prolonged innate response, unlike innate's immediate action and adaptive's specific memory | |
Treatment potential | New avenues for vaccines and immunotherapy | Requires precise understanding and control | Vaccination, cancer immunotherapy | Hybrid response: innate cells with adaptive-like memory traits | Blok et al. 2015, Netea et al., 2011, Ifrim et al. 2014, Kaufmann et al. 2018 |
Innate immune system activation | Boosts cells like macrophages and NK cells | Overactivation may cause tissue damage | Various infections, including fungal and bacterial | Immediate defence; trained immunity enhances this for future encounters | |
Innate and trained immunity relation | Strengthens first defence by "training" cells | May not provide long-lasting adaptive immunity | A broad spectrum of infections | Modifies innate cells through epigenetic reprogramming, unlike traditional innate immunity | |
Mechanism and components | Epigenetic and metabolic changes for sustained response | Complex mechanisms not fully understood | Epigenetic changes in macrophages, NK cells | Involves metabolic and epigenetic changes, unlike immediate innate action and specific adaptive response | |
Pathways | Involves various signaling pathways for immune training | Complex interplay not fully elucidated | Pathogen recognition pathways, TLRs, NOD2, mTOR, HIF-1α pathways | Distinct from adaptive pathways, it involves innate immune signaling pathways like TLRs and NOD2 | Kleinnijenhuis et al. 2012; Cheng et al. 2014; Quintin et al. 2014; Li and Wu 2021; Lajqi et al. 2023 |
Memory cells | Provides a form of memory in innate immune cells | Dysregulated immune responses | Long-term immune memory for pathogens | Different from adaptive memory in T and B cells, it involves epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming of innate cells | Arts et al. 2018; Bekkering et al. 2018; Sun and Lanier 2011; Zhang and Cao 2021; Xing et al. 2020 |