Présentation
A major goal of mucosal vaccines is to induce a local, rapid and effective immune response at the site of entry for viruses that infect through mucosal tissues. Mucosal vaccines should enable the generation of antibody-secreting plasma cells that produce secretory IgA antibodies, and tissue-resident memory B and T cells to counteract viruses replicating in the upper airway.
However, the race to develop mucosal vaccines faces at least five hurdles: mucoadhesion, targeting of mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue, generation of long-lasting tissue-resident B and T cells and development of safe adjuvants.
Our goal is to understand the basic mechanism at work in the mucosa following antigen delivery in order to improve the immune response and long-term mucosal memory following vaccination.