Abstract
To develop a mucosal vaccine strategy for the elderly, we have compared mucosal and systemic immune responses between aged (12-14 months) and young adult (8-12 weeks) mice. Both aged and young mice were immunized weekly with three oral doses of 1 mg of ovalbumin (OVA) and 10 microg of cholera toxin as adjuvant. Although elevated levels of OVA-specific systemic IgG and mucosal IgA Ab responses were seen in young mice, aged mice showed impaired antigen-specific mucosal and systemic immune responses. These results suggest that mucosal immunity is down regulated in aged mice.
Publication types
-
Comparative Study
-
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
-
Adjuvants, Immunologic / administration & dosage
-
Administration, Oral
-
Aging / immunology*
-
Animals
-
B-Lymphocytes / immunology
-
Bacterial Toxins / administration & dosage
-
Cholera Toxin / administration & dosage
-
Enterotoxins / administration & dosage
-
Escherichia coli Proteins*
-
Immunity, Mucosal*
-
Immunoglobulin A / biosynthesis
-
Immunoglobulin G / biosynthesis
-
Mice
-
Ovalbumin / administration & dosage
-
Ovalbumin / immunology
-
Th1 Cells / immunology
-
Th2 Cells / immunology
-
Vaccination / methods*
Substances
-
Adjuvants, Immunologic
-
Bacterial Toxins
-
Enterotoxins
-
Escherichia coli Proteins
-
Immunoglobulin A
-
Immunoglobulin G
-
Ovalbumin
-
Cholera Toxin
-
heat-labile enterotoxin, E coli