Oral and nasal vaccination: current prospects, challenges, and impact of nanotechnology-based delivery systems

Abstract Currently, mucosal vaccine administration has stood out as an easier and non-invasive application method. It can also be used to induce local and systemic immune responses. In the COVID-19 pandemic context, nasal and oral vaccines have been developed based on different technological platforms. This review addressed relevant aspects of mucosal vaccine administration, with emphasis on oral and nasal vaccinations, in addition to the importance of using nanotechnology-based delivery systems to enable these strategies.

The construction of nasal cavity-mimic M-cell model, design of M cell-targeting nanoparticles and evaluation of mucosal vaccination by nasal administration

In order to better evaluate the transport effect of nanoparticles through the nasal mucosa, an nasal cavity-mimic model was designed based on M cells. The differentiation of M cells was induced by co-culture of Calu-3 and Raji cells in invert model. The ZO-1 protein staining and the transport of fluorescein sodium and dexamethasone showed that the inverted co-culture model formed a dense monolayer and possessed the transport ability. The differentiation of M cells was observed by up-regulated expression of Sialyl Lewis A antigen (SLAA) and integrin 1, and down-regulated activity of alkaline phosphatase. After targeting M cells with iRGD peptide (cRGDKGPDC), the transport of nanoparticles increased. , the co-administration of iRGD could result in the increase of nanoparticles transported to the brain through the nasal cavity after intranasal administration. In the evaluation of immune effect , the nasal administration of OVA-PLGA/iRGD led to more release of IgG, IFN-, IL-2 and secretory IgA (sIgA) compared with OVA@PLGA group. Collectively, the study constructed M cell model, and proved the enhanced effect of targeting towards M cell with iRGD on improving nasal immunity.