SYSTEMIC B-CELL RESPONSE OF THE MOUSE AFT ER MUCOSAL IMMUNIZATION WITH MEASLES-VIRUS

The respiratory tract represents both the port of entrance of the meas les virus (MV) and an important target tissue for measles complication s. Therefore, mucosal immunization could be an attractive alternative to the current subcutaneous route. We studied the virus-specific IgA a nd IgG antibody response in the serum after intranasal and intragastri c immunization with MV in the mouse model under non-replicating condit ions. Hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies, mostly without virus-neu tralizing activity were found after intranasal immunization. No virus- specific antibodies were detected after intragastric immunization.