The bare skin and the nose as non-invasive routes for administering peptide vaccines

Among the different technologies currently tested for the development of no vel vaccines. synthetic peptides represent a promising option, since they a re chemically pure and induce immune responses of predetermined specificity . Furthermore, they can be replaced with pseudopeptides or peptide mimetics that contain changes in the amide bond. resulting in more stable and immun ogenic molecules. Administration of peptide vaccines via non-invasive route s, such as the nose or the bare skin, allows the efficient uptake of antige n by antigen-presenting cells, which are abundant in the associated lymphoi d tissues, ensuring the induction of effective systemic and mucosal immune responses. Using non-invasive routes could be advantageous for vaccination programs in third-world countries, since vaccine administration is simple. painless and economical. In this review, we discuss and present some prelim inary data on the advantages of synthetic peptides and peptidomimetics as c andidate vaccines, and their potential for administration via the skin and the nose. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.