ABSTRACT
Gregory M. Glenn, Sarah A. Frech, Richard T. Kenney, and Larry R. Ellingsworth IOMAI Corporation, Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.A.
I. INTRODUCTION
The outermost layer of the living skin has a large component of immune cells committed to host defense against pathogens. The outer layer of the skin is in direct contact with the hostile microbial world and is well equipped to detect invasion by pathogens and orchestrate effective immune responses. The skin immune system is highly sensitive to the danger signals presented by microbes that trigger effective immune responses. Vaccinologists seek to replicate effective immune response to infections by presenting all or some portions of a microbe in a form that leads to protective immune responses without creating the symptoms of disease. The recent advances in characterization of the skin immune system, and the demonstration that new delivery technologies and adjuvants can target the dendritic cells in the skin to stimulate immune responses, together suggest that skin immunization techniques will become established immunization regimens.
