Intralymphatic immunization enhances DNA vaccination.
K J Maloy, I Erdmann, V Basch, S Sierro, T A Kramps, R M Zinkernagel, S Oehen, T M Kündig
Author Information
K J Maloy: Department of Dermatology, and Institute of Experimental Immunology, Universitätsspital Zürich, Schmelzbergstrasse 12, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland. kevin.maloy@path.ox.ac.uk
Although DNA vaccines have been shown to elicit potent immune responses in animal models, initial clinical trials in humans have been disappointing, highlighting a need to optimize their immunogenicity. Naked DNA vaccines are usually administered either i.m. or intradermally. The current study shows that immunization with naked DNA by direct injection into a peripheral lymph node enhances immunogenicity by 100- to 1,000-fold, inducing strong and biologically relevant CD8(+) cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses. Because injection directly into a lymph node is a rapid and easy procedure in humans, these results have important clinical implications for DNA vaccination.
