BACKGROUND We previously reported that the immunogenicity of Hcβtre, a botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) immunogen, was enhanced by fusion to an epithelial cell binding domain, Ad2F, when nasally delivered to mice with cholera toxin (CT). This study was performed to determine if Ad2F would enhance the nasal immunogenicity of Hcβtre in rabbits, an animal model with a nasal cavity anatomy similar t...

While the nasal mucosa is a potentially useful site for human immunization, toxin-based nasal adjuvants are generally unsafe and less effective in humans. Safe mucosal adjuvants that activate protective immunity via mucosal administration are highly dependent on barrier antigen sampling by epithelial and DCs. Here, we demonstrate that protein antigens formulated in unique oil-in-water nanoemuls...

We have recently demonstrated that induction of Th2 responses by Schistosoma mansoni egg Ag is largely due to carbohydrates on the Ag functioning as adjuvants. Lacto-N-fucopentaose III (LNFPIII), a polylactosamine sugar, is the predominant carbohydrate found in S. mansoni egg Ag. Therefore, using neoglycoprotein, we investigated whether LNFPIII induces in vivo Th2 response and functions as an a...

A promising alternative vaccine candidate to reduce the burden of pneumococcal diseases is the protein antigen PspA (Pneumococcal surface protein A). Since concomitant colonization with two or more pneumococcal strains is very common in children, we aimed to determine if immunization with PspA would be able to control co-colonization. We evaluated nasal immunization with recombinant PspA (rPspA...

Streptococcus pneumoniae is the leading cause of respiratory acute infections around the world. In Latin America, approximately 20,000 children under 5 years of age die of pneumococcal diseases annually. Pneumococcal surface protein A (PspA) is among the best-characterized pneumococcal antigens that confer protection in animal models of pneumococcal infections and, as such, is a good alternativ...

The Gram-positive bacterial pathogen methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can cause infections in the bloodstream, endocardial tissue, respiratory tract, culture-confirmed skin, or soft tissue. There are currently no effective vaccines, and none are expected to become available in the near future. An effective vaccine capable of eliciting both systemic and mucosal immune responses...

Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax, a bacterial infection with a high mortality rate [1-3]. Although anthrax infection can be cutaneous, gastrointestinal or pulmonary, the pulmonary form is the most deadly [2,3]. Thus, the release of Bacillus anthracis spores that can be inhaled represents a potent bioterrorism threat; the capacity of B. anthracis spores to act as a bioterrori...

Entrapment of antigens in mucoadhesive nanoparticles prepared from N-trimethyl chitosan (TMC) has been shown to increase their immunogenicity. However, because of their large size compared to soluble antigens, particles poorly diffuse through the nasal epithelium. The aim of this work was to study whether nasal vaccination with a much smaller TMC-antigen nanoconjugate would result in higher ant...