Oral Mucosal Immunization with a Particle-mediated Gene Gun in Animals

Abstract

Induction of mucosal immunity by direct immunization of mucosal surfaces has been considered for vaccine approaches including DNA vaccines. In this study, we used a particle-mediated gene gun system in hamster, rabbit, and canine models to determine suitable conditions for foreign gene delivery to the oral mucosa. The results showed expression of the marker genes (green fluorescent protein gene and luciferase gene) in the oral mucosa that was substantially higher compared with skin. DNA vaccination was performed with influenza A/WSN/33(H1N1) hemagglutinin cDNA combined with mouse interleukin-18 (IL-18) cDNA. Results with the canine model showed that the technique was safe for clinical application. Our results suggested that oral mucosal gene immunization using a gene gun may have great potential.