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This Article Full Text (PDF) Data Supplement All Versions of this Article: jimmunol.0901144v1 183/11/6933    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Google Scholar Articles by Zygmunt, B. M. Articles by Guzman, C. A. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zygmunt, B. M. Articles by Guzman, C. A.

Intranasal Immunization Promotes Th17 Immune Responses¹

Beata M. Zygmunt,^2* Faiza Rharbaoui,^* Lothar Groebe, and Carlos A. Guzman^*

*Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology and Department of Experimental Immunology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany

Th17 cells are a lineage of CD4⁺ T cells characterized by IL-17 secretion, which plays a crucial role in immune responses against important respiratory pathogens, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, we demonstrated that intranasal (i.n.) immunization leads per se to Th17-biased immune responses, regardless of the adjuvant used. The activated CD4⁺ T cells also showed an up-regulated expression of the chemokine receptor CCR6, which is a marker for murine Th17 cells. These results have important implications in the context of optimizing rational vaccine design, since i.n. immunization appears to be the strategy of choice for situations where the induction of a Th17 phenotype would be beneficial.

Correspondence: ² Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Beata M. Zygmunt, Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany. E-mail address: beata.zygmunt{at}helmholtz-hzi.de

¹ This work was in part supported by a Marie Curie Early Stage Training of the European Community's Sixth Framework Programme under contract number MEST-2004-504990 and through the European Commission project "PANFLUVAC" (contract No. 044115).