ABSTRACT
Mucosal immunization may be important for protection against pathogens whose transmission and pathogenesis target the mucosal tissue. The capsid proteins of human papillomavirus (HPV) confer tropism for the basal epithelium and can encapsidate DNA during self-assembly to form pseudovirions (PsVs). Therefore, we produced mucosal vaccine vectors by HPV PsV encapsidation of DNA plasmids expressing an experimental antigen derived from the M and M2 proteins of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Intravaginal (IVag) delivery elicited local and systemic M-M2-specific CD8+ T-cell and antibody responses in mice that were comparable to an approximately 10,000-fold higher dose of naked DNA. A single HPV PsV IVag immunization primed for M-M2-specific-IgA in nasal and vaginal secretions. Based on light emission and immunofluorescent microscopy, immunization with HPV PsV-encapsidated luciferase- and red fluorescent protein (RFP)-expressing plasmids resulted in transient antigen expression (<5 days), which was restricted to the vaginal epithelium. HPV PsV encapsidation of plasmid DNA is a novel strategy for mucosal immunization that could provide new vaccine options for selected mucosal pathogens.
Subject(s)
Mucous Membrane/metabolism , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/immunology , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines , Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/physiology , Virion/metabolism , Administration, Intravaginal , Administration, Mucosal , Animals , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/metabolism , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/pathology , Cells, Cultured , Epithelium/immunology , Epithelium/metabolism , Epithelium/pathology , Epithelium/virology , Female , Immunity, Mucosal , Immunoglobulin A/immunology , Immunoglobulin A/metabolism , Lymphocyte Activation , Mice , Mice, Inbred Strains , Mucous Membrane/immunology , Mucous Membrane/pathology , Mucous Membrane/virology , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/prevention & control , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/transmission , Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections/virology , Respiratory Syncytial Viruses/pathogenicity , Vaccines, DNA , Vagina/pathology , Viral Matrix Proteins/genetics , Viral Matrix Proteins/immunology , Viral Matrix Proteins/metabolism , Viral Proteins/genetics , Viral Proteins/immunology , Viral Proteins/metabolism , Virion/genetics , Virion/pathogenicityABSTRACT
Unstructured interviews were conducted with 10 low-income black women to explore infant feeding style. Formula-feeding with early introduction of cereal in the bottle was the most common pattern used by mothers in the first 3 months. By 6 months, formula-fed infants had a complex diet of a variety of foods. Half the women intended to breast-feed, but only one exclusively breast-fed. Beliefs about healthy infants and crying influenced feeding. There was a lack of knowledge about and support for breast-feeding in these women's environment. Support and advice about infant feeding from the health care system were uneven.
Subject(s)
Black or African American , Bottle Feeding , Breast Feeding/ethnology , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Maternal-Child Nursing , Poverty , Adult , Female , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Mother-Child Relations , South Carolina , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
An ethnographic field study design was used to explore infant feeding among 20 West Indian women on the island of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Two styles of infant feeding emerged from the data, "older style" and "contemporary style." Three patterns of combined breast and bottle feeding were identified: day/night, supplemental, and random. Older style mothers followed a day/night pattern, whereas contemporary style mothers used a supplemental pattern. A folk explanatory model of infant feeding was constructed and included why infants were fed in certain ways, as well as the meaning of feeding practices. The health care system had an impact on both styles of infant feeding through hospital practices and provision of formula through the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.
