Nanotechnologies in Delivery of DNA and mRNA Vaccines to the Nasal and Pulmonary Mucosa

Jie Tang, Larry Cai, Chuanfei Xu, Si Sun, Yuheng Liu, Joseph Rosenecker, Shan Guan

Research output: Contribution to journalReview ArticleResearchpeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Recent advancements in the field of in vitro transcribed mRNA (IVT-mRNA) vaccination have attracted considerable attention to such vaccination as a cutting-edge technique against infectious diseases including COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. While numerous pathogens infect the host through the respiratory mucosa, conventional parenterally administered vaccines are unable to induce protective immunity at mucosal surfaces. Mucosal immunization enables the induction of both mucosal and systemic immunity, efficiently removing pathogens from the mucosa before an infection occurs. Although respiratory mucosal vaccination is highly appealing, successful nasal or pulmonary delivery of nucleic acid-based vaccines is challenging because of several physical and biological barriers at the airway mucosal site, such as a variety of protective enzymes and mucociliary clearance, which remove exogenously inhaled substances. Hence, advanced nanotechnologies enabling delivery of DNA and IVT-mRNA to the nasal and pulmonary mucosa are urgently needed. Ideal nanocarriers for nucleic acid vaccines should be able to efficiently load and protect genetic payloads, overcome physical and biological barriers at the airway mucosal site, facilitate transfection in targeted epithelial or antigen-presenting cells, and incorporate adjuvants. In this review, we discuss recent developments in nucleic acid delivery systems that target airway mucosa for vaccination purposes.

Original languageEnglish
Article number226
Number of pages28
JournalNanomaterials
Volume12
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jan 2022
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • DNA vaccine
  • Intranasal delivery
  • MRNA vaccine
  • Mucosal immune response
  • Nanoparticles
  • Pulmonary delivery

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