Targeting lung tissue residet immunity via parenteral vaccination 3048

Abstract Description Adjuvants are added to vaccines to improve the immune response and augment pathogen clearance. Most current adjuvants are sufficient to enhance immunity, yet they often do not induce immunity specifically at mucosal sites of pathogen entry, especially when administered parenterally (non-mucosally). Previous studies from our group demonstrates that double mutant heat liable toxin (dmLT) and a bacterial outer membrane vesicle-derived adjuvant (T-vant) have the potential to induce both humoral and cellular immune responses as well as potentially driving tissue resident immunity in mucosal tissues via non-mucosal immunization; however, It is not known if the lung can be targeted in this way. Here, we hypothesized that intradermal immunization with a model vaccine consisting of the adjuvant combination of dmLT and T-vant could induce robust tissue resident CD4 and CD8 T cells in the lung. Our results show that following this immunization, we could observe non-circulating, vaccine-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells in the lung tissue. We are currently exploring the phenotype and function of these cells and how this might compare to other vaccination routes such as intramuscularly and intranasally. These preliminary findings suggest that the combination adjuvanted vaccine could provide increased protection against infections affecting the lungs. This fits into our larger goal of developing novel vaccines for tuberculosis which currently lacks an effective vaccine. Funding Sources Supported by NIH 5R01AI166756-03 Topic Categories Vaccines and Immunotherapy (VAC)