Development of next-generation mucosal vaccines

Future vaccines administered via the nasal or sublingual route are expected to provide better protection against respiratory and enteric pathogens than classical intramuscular vaccines and should be easier to manufacture and safer to administer on a large scale. The Experimental Paediatric Pneumology group focuses on the development of adenovirus-based vaccine platforms that are adapted to the human mucosa and have adapted and targeted immunogenicity. This requires not only the development of vectors, but also the establishment of ex vivo models that are representative of the structure and immunology of human mucosa. To this end, we are working on primary organoids from tonsil and nasal epithelial cultures for high-throughput characterisation of the transduction rates of adenovirus vectors and the elicited immune response. Using similar experiments, we are also investigating the effects of pre-existing allergy on natural adenovirus infection.