Mucosal vaccines

Abstract

The mucosal immune system displays several adaptations reflecting the exposure to the external environment. The efficient induction of mucosal immune responses also requires specific approaches, such as the use of appropriate administration routes and specific adjuvants and/or delivery systems. In contrast to vaccines delivered via parenteral routes, experimental, and clinical evidences demonstrated that mucosal vaccines can efficiently induce local immune responses to pathogens or tumors located at mucosal sites as well as systemic response. At least in part, such features can be explained by the compartmentalization of mucosal B and T cell populations that play important roles in the modulation of local immune responses. In the present review, we discuss molecular and cellular features of the mucosal immune system as well as novel immunization approaches that may lead to the development of innovative and efficient vaccines targeting pathogens and tumors at different mucosal sites.

Keywords: :

• mucosal vaccines
• cancer vaccines
• mucosal adjuvants
• resident memory T cells
• homing molecules
• immunization routes
• mucosal imprinting

10.4161/hv.29269

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from Fondation ARC pour la recherche contre le cancer, Labex immuno-oncology, Canceropole-région Ile-de-France, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR), Site intégré de recherche intégré en cancérologie (SIRIC-Carpem), Institut National contre le Cancer (INCA), Labex d’immuno-oncologie, Ligue contre le cancer, and Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP).