Development of protein antigen-loaded nanocarriers for intranasal pneumococcal vaccine

Florian Bock – Post-Doc, University of Lausanne; Jean-Claude Sirard – INSERM research director, Institut Pasteur de Lille; Jan-Willem Veening – The Veening lab leader, University of Lausanne; Maria Alonso – Professor, University of Santiago de Compostela; Noemi Csaba – Professor, University of Santiago de Compostela

Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae, is the leading bacterial cause of lower respiratory infections (LRI) [1]. Current pneumococcal vaccines are administered by intramuscular injection and based on the capsular polysaccharides (CPS) [2]. However, wide variability of CPS serotype and minimum prevention of bacterial colonization posed as challenges. A previous study identified a conserved pneumococcal protein, LafB, as a protective antigen in the context of superinfection [3]. Immunization in mice elicited protective immune response against a wide range of strains, irrespective of their serotype [3]. The aim of this study is to design intranasal nanocarriers to overcome the barriers of nasal cavity.