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New delivery method takes the pinch out of vaccines
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A research team at Northwestern University has begun the pioneering work of creating better vaccines. And not only better, but also needle free. Their system uses probiotics, the natural and healthy bacteria found in dairy products like yogurt, to deliver the vaccine directly to the small intestines, where the heart of our immune system lies.
Vaccines are a teaching tool for the body. With the injection (often a weaker form of the virus or bacteria that causes sicknesses) immune cells learn which foreign substances to destroy, and pass such information on to other cells. This way, the next time it encounters the virus, the immune system can launch a more rapid and robust response for it already knows to kill those invaders.
While there is no denying the benefit of the vaccine, there are drawbacks to the current system. First, and most obvious, is the use of a needle, which some people dislike so greatly it can cause fear-induced fainting spells. In addition, traditional vaccines are injected into muscle tissue (usually the arm or leg). But this is a strange place for harmful viruses/bacteria (called antigens) to be. "Nature isn't used to seeing antigens injected into a muscle," said Terrence Barrrett, M.D, of Northwestern University. "The place where your immune system is designed to encounter and mount a defense against antigens is your gut." [EurekAlert]
That’s what makes the new system so ideal for vaccinations. By using ingestible probiotics, the vaccine can be taken straight to the small intestines. Mansour Mohamadzadeh, lead author of the study, described the process as follows: "You swallow the vaccine, and the bacteria colonize your intestine and start to produce the vaccine in your gut. Then it's quickly dispatched throughout your body. If you can activate the immune system in your gut, you get a much more powerful immune response than by injecting it. The pathogenic bacteria will be eliminated faster." [EurekAlert]
The group has already seen success with probiotic vaccines for anthrax, which were at the very least as effective of traditional vaccine injections in mouse models. They are working towards expanding the technique to vaccines for cancers, the flu, and HIV.
The use of probiotics will also eliminate the need for adjuant, which is used to inflame the area of injection to start an immune response. Adjuant has side effects which include vomiting and swelling at the site of injection. And, as is always the concern in these days, one of the other major benefits to probiotics is that they are less expensive to produce.
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