Abstract Mucosal vaccines have the potential to elicit protective immune responses at point of entry respiratory pathogens thus preventing even initial seed infection. Unlike licensed injectable vaccines, mucosal comprising protein subunits are only in development stage. One primary challenges associated with has been identification and characterization safe yet effective adjuvants that can eff...

The mucosal immune system is uniquely equipped to discriminate between potentially invasive pathogens and innocuous food proteins. While the mechanisms responsible for induction of mucosal immunity vs tolerance are not yet fully delineated, recent studies have highlighted mucosal dendritic cells (DC) as being important in determining the fate of orally administered Ag. To further investigate th...

A large number of emerging pathogens, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and influenza virus are mucosally transmitted and must cross mucosal barriers to infect the host. Thus, to induce a maximal protective effect, it is desirable to apply vaccines by the mucosal route where virus infections start. Mucosal vaccines administered either orally o...

Oral administration of autoantigens is a safe and convenient way to induce peripheral T-cell tolerance in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). To increase the efficacy of oral tolerance induction and obviate the need for large-scale purification of human myelin proteins, we use genetically modified lactobacilli expressing myelin antigens. A panel of recombinant lactobacilli was con...

UNLABELLED Recent studies have shown that stimulation of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor reduces the area of ischemic myocardial necrosis and affects activity of the digestive tract. The aim of the present study was to check whether the administration of CB1 receptor agonist or antagonist affects the stress-induced gastric ulceration and development of edematous pancreatitis. METHODS Experiments...

BACKGROUND The methods of evaluating endoscopic mucosal findings and the definition of mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease have not been standardized. AIM To examine a third-party central review of colonic mucosal evaluations. METHODS A double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial was performed for 4weeks, which involved continuous administration of a 1-g mesalazine supp...

Of the various routes of drug delivery, the oral route is often preferred by the patient. However, peroral administration of drugs has disadvantages such as hepatic first-pass metabolism and enzymatic degradation within the gastrointestinal tract which constitutes a hindrance to oral administration of certain classes of drugs, especially peptides and proteins. Consequently, other absorptive muc...

BACKGROUND Increased mucosal permeability is an important factor in the genesis of mucosal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. This study examined the time course of increased permeability and the effect of butyrate on permeability in experimental colitis in rats. METHODS Colitis was induced in albino rats by administration of 4% dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) orally for up to 7 days. ...

The mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts represent the principal portals of entry for most infectious agents. Hence, the development of vaccination strategies capable of inducing protective immune responses at the mucosal sites is a priority. Since the mucosal surfaces are exposed to a wide variety of antigens, the mucosal immune system has to discriminate between har...