In vitro antibody response to tetanus in the MIMIC system is a representative measure of vaccine immunogenicity.

In response to the recurrent failure of animal vaccine protection studies to accurately predict human trial results, we have developed a fully human modular immune in vitroconstruct (MIMIC) to serve as a preliminary screen for efficacy testing of potential vaccine formulations. To validate the potential of this approach, we monitored the in vitro-generated tetanus (TT)-specific antibody levels in a cohort of donors before and after receiving tetanus vaccination. Purified CD4_T cell and B cell populations were combined with autologous tetanus vaccine-pulsed dendritic cells to generate specific antibody.