I've been shot

As the threat of bioterrorism grows, the military must keep pace by protecting their soldiers against potential biological agents such as Anthrax. Currently, the US military uses an injectable form of vaccine to immunize its soldiers against the threat of anthrax spores. This vaccine requires six does and annual boosters to remain effective (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20323558/). As any individual who has been immunized by the fine staff of the UCHSC mouse colonies can tell you, even a single immunization can be painful and traumatic. Recently, a more effective, inhalation vaccine has been discovered and brought to market by a company called NanoBio Corporation of Ann Arbor, MI.

This new vaccine relies on technology discovered at the University of Michigan in James Baker’s lab that uses a new adjuvant/delivery method to increase the uptake efficiency of antigens by dendritic cells, increasing the vaccine’s overall effectiveness. An adjuvant is a substance that elicits an immune response and activates the innate immune system, resulting in inflammation and enhancing the action of the vaccine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunologic_adjuvant). In this new technology, protective antigen (PA) of B anthracis, is presented to dendritic cells in a “nanoemulsion”. These nanoemulsion particles lyse viruses and retain some of their antigenic determinants. Due to the small size of these particles, endocytosis by antigen presenting cells becomes a more efficient process, resulting in an enhanced adaptive immune response. This in turn leads to better immunological memory cell formation and a more complete protective immunity to Anthrax (Bielinska et al. 2007. “Mucosal Immunization with Novel Nanoemulsion-Based Recombinant Anthrax Protective Antigen Vaccine Protects against Bacillus anthracis Spore Challenge.” Infection and Immunity 75:4020-4029)

In contrast, conventional adjuvants include aluminum potassium sulfate or aluminum hydroxide. These along with biological pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) elicit a weaker immune response than this nanoemulsion technology. Furthermore, current vaccines carry the risk of toxicity and other side effects, whereas the NanoBio Corporation swears up and down on their website that this is an impossibility with their product (http://www.nanobio.com/Products/Mucosal-Vaccines.html). If their claims are accurate and this product completes clinical trials successfully, it could signal a time when the military no longer pokes and prods its recruits with needles.