title: Efficient vagina-to-lower respiratory tract immune trafficking in a murine model of influenza A virus infection.
abstract: Effective vaccination strategies for infectious diseases take into account the induction, long-term maintenance and recall of memory T-cell populations. To understand the immunological cross-talk within the mucosal compartments, we compared intranasal to vaginal immunization and demonstrated that vaginal infection of BALB/c mice with influenza A virus provides protective mucosal immunity against both homosubtypic and heterosubtypic virus challenge in the respiratory tract. We found that, prior to the viral challenge, in vaginally primed mice, antigen-specific CD8+ T cells were not detected in the lung airways and levels of serum antibodies were lower than those observed in intranasally immunized mice. However, following pulmonary challenge, NP147-specific CD8+ T cells were recruited and amplified in vaginally primed mice to the same extent as those in intranasally primed mice. Thus, the long-term memory immune response elicited by vaginal immunization with influenza virus is efficiently recalled and offers reasonable protection against infection in the respiratory tract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-mediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy. bruno.garulli@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Garulli
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Meola
authors.forename: Maria Giuseppina
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Stillitano
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawaoka
authors.forename: Maria Rita
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Castrucci
mesh_terms: D000281:Administration, Intranasal; D000282:Administration, Intravaginal; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D007114:Immunization; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007252:Influenza Vaccines