Targeting Mucosal Dendritic Cells with Microbial Antigens from Probiotic Lactic Acid Bacteria

摘要

Using vaccines against infectious microbes has been critical to the advancement of medicine. Various vaccine strategies combined with or without adjuvants have been established to eradicate various bacterial and viral pathogens. A new generation of vaccines is being developed using specific strains of the gram-positive lactic acid bacteria, and notably some probiotic lactobacilli. These bacteria have been safely consumed by humans for centuries in fermented foods. Therefore, they can be orally administered, are well- tolerated by recipients, and could easily and economically provided to large populations. In this overview, we focus on mucosal immunity and how its cellular component (s), particularly dendritic cells (DCs), can be specifically targeted to deliver immunogenic subunits like the protective antigen (PA) from Bacillus anthracis (causative agent of anthrax). An antigen-specific immune response can be elicited by using various strains of Lactobacillus expressing PA. A mucosal, DC targeting approach increases the bio-availability of an immunogen of interest, when delivered orally by Lactobacillus. This provides an efficiently elegant natural strategy and serves a dual function as an immune- stimulating adjuvant in vivo.