Transcutaneous immunization with lipid offers a new route of vaccination against Helicobacter pylori and a new candidate delivery vehicle.
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.
Chambers
Mark Andrew
MA
TB Research Group, Veterinary Laboratories Agency Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK. m.a.chambers@vla.defra.gsi.gov.uk