Abstract
Evaluation of: Hickey DK, Aldwell FE, Tan ZY, Bao S, Beagley KW. Transcutaneous immunization with novel lipid-based adjuvants induces protection against gastric Helicobacter pylori infection. Vaccine 27(50), 6983–6990 (2009).
Needle-free methods of vaccination may allow rapid, simple and safe vaccination of large populations. Oral vaccination is the best established method but faces the hurdle of oral tolerance to the vaccine antigen. Skin-based transcutaneous immunization (TCI) offers an alternative needle-free route of vaccination that is able to induce protective immunity without the problem of oral tolerance. Helicobacter pylori is an important human pathogen associated with a number of gastrointestinal disorders, including gastritis, peptic ulcers and gastric tumors. Conventional treatments involving the use of antibiotics have a number of limitations and the development of an effective vaccine is the best long-term treatment option. A variety of experimental vaccines to Helicobacter have been reported. The paper reviewed here combines the approach of TCI with the use of a novel lipid antigen delivery system, hitherto only used for oral vaccination, to evaluate the potential for TCI for a simple vaccination strategy against Helicobacter and potentially other disease-causing organisms.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
The author has no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.