Georg Stary et al. Science 19 Jun 2015:Vol. 348, Issue 6241, pp.
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa8205

The right combination for protection

There is no vaccine to protect against infection of the sexually transmitted bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct). Stary et al. report on one potential vaccine candidate. Using an ultraviolet light-inactivated C. trachomatis (UV-Ct) linked to adjuvant-containing charged nanoparticles for vaccination protected female conventional and humanized mice against C. trachomatis infection. Protection occurred only if the vacine was delivered through mucosal routes.

Conclusions: Mucosal exposure to live Ct and inactivated UV-Ct induces antigen-specific CD4 T cell responses. While immunogenic dendritic cells (DCs) present the former to promote immunity, the latter is instead targeted to tolerogenic DCs that exacerbate host susceptibility to Ct infection. By combining UV-Ct with charge-switching synthetic adjuvant nanoparticles (cSAPs) nanocarriers, it was possible to redirect noninfectious UV-Ct to immunogenic DCs and achieve long-lived protection. This protective effect depended on the synergistic action of two memory T cell subsets with distinct differentiation kinetics and migratory properties. The cSAP technology offers a platform for efficient mucosal immunization that may also be applicable to other mucosal pathogens.

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