Mucosal IgA responses in healthy adult volunteers following intranasal spray delivery of a live attenuated measles vaccine.

Measles remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the developing world. The goal of this study was to examine measles virus-specific mucosal immune responses in healthy immune (n = 24; plaque reduction neutralization [PRN] titers of ≥200 mIU/ml) and nonimmune (n = 24) young adult volunteers who received the monovalent Moraten measles vaccine via intranasal (spray delivery) or subcutaneous immunization. Serum, oral fluid, and nasal wash samples were examined for measles virus-specific and total IgG and IgA on day 0 (prior to vaccination) and on days 14, 28, and 90 after vaccination.

Attenuated measles virus as a vaccine vector.

Live attenuated measles virus (MV) vaccines have an impressive record of safety, efficacy and ability to induce life-long immunity against measles infection. Using reverse genetics technology, such negative-strand RNA viruses can now be rescued from cloned DNA. This technology allows the insertion of exogenous genes encoding foreign antigens into the MV genome in such a way that they can be expressed by the MV vaccine strain, without affecting virus structure, propagation and cell targeting.