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Dryad

Data from: Vaccine targeting to mucosal lymphoid tissues promotes humoral immunity in the gastrointestinal tract

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Aug 20, 2025 version files 39.66 KB

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Abstract

Viruses, bacteria, and parasites frequently cause infections in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but traditional vaccination strategies typically elicit little or no mucosal antibody responses. Here, we report a strategy to effectively concentrate immunogens and adjuvants in gut-draining lymph nodes (LNs) to induce gut-associated mucosal immunity. We prepared nanoemulsions (NEs) based on biodegradable oils commonly used as vaccine adjuvants, which encapsulated a potent Toll-like receptor agonist and displayed antigen conjugated to their surface. Following intraperitoneal administration, these NEs accumulated in gut-draining mesenteric LNs, priming strong germinal center responses and promoting B cell class switching to IgA. Optimized NEs elicited 10- to 1000-fold higher antigen-specific IgG and IgA titers in the serum and feces, respectively, compared to free antigen mixed with NE, and strong neutralizing antibody titers against SARS-CoV-2. Thus, robust gut humoral immunity can be elicited by exploiting the unique lymphatic collection pathways of the gut with a lymph-targeting vaccine formulation.