Abstract
BackgroundCombination vaccines reduce the total number of injections required for each component administered separately and generally provide the same level of disease protection. Yet, physical, chemical, and biological interactions between vaccine components are often detrimental to vaccine safety or efficacy.MethodsAs a possible alternative to combination vaccines, we used specially designed microneedles to inject rhesus macaques with four separate recombinant protein vaccines for anthrax, botulism, plague and staphylococcal toxic shock next to each other just below the surface of the skin, thus avoiding potentially incompatible vaccine mixtures.ResultsThe intradermally-administered vaccines retained potent antibody responses and were well- tolerated by rhesus macaques. Based on tracking of the adjuvant, the vaccines were transported from the dermis to draining lymph nodes by antigen-presenting cells. Vaccinated primates were completely protected from an otherwise lethal aerosol challenge by Bacillus anthracis spores, botulinum neurotoxin A, or staphylococcal enterotoxin B.ConclusionOur results demonstrated that the physical separation of vaccines both in the syringe and at the site of administration did not adversely affect the biological activity of each component.The vaccination method we describe may be scalable to include a greater number of antigens, while avoiding the physical and chemical incompatibilities encountered by combining multiple vaccines together in one product.
Highlights
Combination vaccines reduce the total number of injections required for each component administered separately and generally provide the same level of disease protection
The greater efficacy resulting from i.d. vaccination may permit the administration of an increased number of vaccines compared to i.m. because a smaller volume is required for delivery
The pattern of vaccinations consisted of an array of 100-μl injections separated by 2 cm, keeping each vaccine isolated from adjacent administrations (Fig. 1)
Summary
Combination vaccines reduce the total number of injections required for each component administered separately and generally provide the same level of disease protection. Physical, chemical, and biological interactions between vaccine components are often detrimental to vaccine safety or efficacy. The development of combination vaccines is a common practice that addresses the concern of repeated visits to the clinic by reducing the total number of injections required compared with administration schedules for the monovalent vaccines. Physical, chemical, and biological interactions between the components of combination vaccines must be considered to avoid detrimental effects on safety or efficacy. The greater efficacy resulting from i.d. vaccination may permit the administration of an increased number of vaccines compared to i.m. because a smaller volume is required for delivery
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