Mucosal immune responses to pneumococcal polysaccharides: implications for vaccination.
Systemic vaccination does not effectively induce a protective immune response to Streptococcus pneumoniae infections in infants, elderly people and immunosuppressed patients, who are highly susceptible to this pathogen. As mucosal immune responses develop early in life and still function well in the elderly, mucosal vaccination (that is, by oral, intratracheal or intranasal routes) may be an alternative approach to current strategies.
van den Dobbelsteen
G P
GP
Dept of Cell Biology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
van Rees
E P
EP
D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D009093:Mucus / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D013156:Splenectomy; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology*
D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial