title: Potential role for mucosally active vaccines against pneumococcal pneumonia.
abstract: Pneumococcal pneumonia is a life-threatening disease with high mortality and morbidity among children under 5 years of age, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals worldwide. Protection against pneumococcal pneumonia relies on successful regulation of colonisation in the nasopharynx and a brisk alveolar macrophage-mediated immune response in the lung. Therefore, enhancing pulmonary mucosal immunity (which includes a combination of innate, humoral and cell-mediated immunity) through mucosal vaccination might be the key to prevention of pneumococcal infection. Current challenges include a lack of information in humans on mucosal immunity against pneumococci and a lack of suitable adjuvants for new vaccines. Data from mouse models, however, suggest that mucosally active vaccines will enhance mucosal and systemic immunity for protection against pneumococcal infection.
authors.affiliation: Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, P.O. Box 30096, Chichiri, Blantyre, Malawi. kjambo@liv.ac.uk
authors.forename: Kondwani C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Jambo
authors.forename: Enoch
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sepako
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Heyderman
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D018928:Immunity, Mucosal; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D011018:Pneumonia, Pneumococcal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines