Journal of Vaccines & Vaccination

Non-infl ammatory adjuvant for cutaneous vaccination

International Conference & Exhibition on Vaccines & Vaccination

22-24 Nov 2011 Philadelphia Airport Marriott, USA

Mei X. Wu, Xinyuan Chen and Richard R. Anderson

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Vaccines Vaccin

Abstract:

Skin is rich in specialized antigen presenting cells and has been recognized as an attractive site for vaccine delivery, since skin scarifi cation of the fi rst smallpox vaccine 200 years ago. Despite its potential, cutaneous immunization is not commonly used in the clinic today because of technical diffi culties and a lack of infl ammation-free adjuvant. All current vaccine adjuvants cause infl ammation that can jeopardize the integrity of the skin and thus the fi rst line of our body�s defense. With the development of intradermal injection devices and a variety of disposable microneedles for cutaneous vaccination in the past decade, there is an urgent need for the development of a potent vaccine adjuvant that introduces little infl ammation and accommodates a limited injection volume in the skin. We develop a laser-based vaccine adjuvant capable of boosting immune responses, without incurring infl ammation. Th is laser vaccine adjuvant (LVA) was induced by brief illumination of a small area of the skin with a nondestructive, 532 or 1064 nm laser prior to intradermal administration of vaccines at the site of laser illumination. Th e pre-illumination stimulated the motility of dendritic cells (DCs) and signifi cantly augmented immune responses against various protein-based vaccines as a result of suffi cient antigen (Ag)-uptake at the site of vaccine injection and transportation of the Ag-captured DCs to the draining lymph nodes. In comparison with all current vaccine adjuvants that are either chemical compounds or biological agents, LVA is a risk- and additive- free adjuvant and has distinct advantages over traditional vaccine adjuvants for cutaneous vaccination

Biography :

Dr. Mei X. Wu is an associate professor in the Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and an af fi liated faculty of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. She received her Ph.D. from Utah State University in 1992 and was further trained at MIT and HMS. She has more than 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals and her research has been continuously supported by various competitive funds from National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, the American Cancer Society, the Crohn?s & Colitis Foundation of America, the American Heart Association, and Bill Gates Foundation