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Tetanus, anthrax vaccine patch promising in mice
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Controlled exposure of the skin to E. coli bacteria genetically engineered to produce proteins associated with the bacteria that cause tetanus or anthrax effectively protects mice from the deadly bacteria, "without appreciable side effects," report scientists from Vaxin Inc., of Birmingham, Alabama.
To boost vaccine coverage worldwide against the threats of pandemics, terrorist attacks, and emerging infectious diseases, the trend of vaccine development will increasingly focus on rapid-response, low-cost, and needle-free technologies, Vaxin founder Dr. De-chu C. Tang told Reuters Health.
Topical vaccines "can be produced quickly and at low costs in response to a surge in demand, distributed to remote areas at ambient temperature without requirement for freezers, and mass-administered by non-medical personnel," Tang noted.
According to a report in the journal Infection and Immunity, 90 percent of mice administered the topical tetanus vaccine survived lethal challenge with tetanus cells, while those that did not receive the vaccine died within five days of challenge.
Moreover, 55 percent of mice administered the topical anthrax vaccine survived lethal challenge with anthrax spores.
"Live E. coli cells were not found in non-skin tissues after topical application, although fragments of E. coli DNA were disseminated transiently," the authors report.
This work, Tang said, shows that "effective immunization" can be accomplished by noninvasive administration of E. coli vectors overproducing tetanus- or anthrax-derived proteins to the surface of skin.
E. coli particles administered to the surface of skin are rapidly degraded in the outer layer of the skin, which jump starts the immune system to respond, the researcher explained.
Pre-existing immunity to E. coli may enhance the potency of the vaccine, Tang also noted adding, "this class of vaccine may thus be administered for multiple cycles without running out of gas."
SOURCE: Infection and Immunity June 2006.
Reuters Health