Johansen Pål, Kündig Thomas M
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich.
J Vis Exp. 2014 Feb 2(84):e51031. doi: 10.3791/51031.
Vaccines are typically injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly for stimulation of immune responses. The success of this requires efficient drainage of vaccine to lymph nodes where antigen presenting cells can interact with lymphocytes for generation of the wanted immune responses. The strength and the type of immune responses induced also depend on the density or frequency of interactions as well as the microenvironment, especially the content of cytokines. As only a minute fraction of peripherally injected vaccines reaches the lymph nodes, vaccinations of mice and humans were performed by direct injection of vaccine into inguinal lymph nodes, i.e. intralymphatic injection. In man, the procedure is guided by ultrasound. In mice, a small (5-10 mm) incision is made in the inguinal region of anesthetized animals, the lymph node is localized and immobilized with forceps, and a volume of 10-20 μl of the vaccine is injected under visual control. The incision is closed with a single stitch using surgical sutures. Mice were vaccinated with plasmid DNA, RNA, peptide, protein, particles, and bacteria as well as adjuvants, and strong improvement of immune responses against all type of vaccines was observed. The intralymphatic method of vaccination is especially appropriate in situations where conventional vaccination produces insufficient immunity or where the amount of available vaccine is limited.
疫苗通常通过皮下或肌肉注射来刺激免疫反应。要实现这一点，需要将疫苗有效地引流至淋巴结，抗原呈递细胞可在淋巴结处与淋巴细胞相互作用，以产生所需的免疫反应。诱导的免疫反应的强度和类型还取决于相互作用的密度或频率以及微环境，尤其是细胞因子的含量。由于外周注射的疫苗只有极小一部分能到达淋巴结，因此对小鼠和人类进行疫苗接种时，是通过将疫苗直接注射到腹股沟淋巴结中，即淋巴管内注射。在人类中，该操作由超声引导。在小鼠中，在麻醉动物的腹股沟区域做一个小（5 - 10毫米）切口，用镊子定位并固定淋巴结，然后在可视控制下注射10 - 20微升疫苗。用手术缝线单针缝合切口。用质粒DNA、RNA、肽、蛋白质、颗粒、细菌以及佐剂对小鼠进行疫苗接种，观察到针对所有类型疫苗的免疫反应都有显著改善。淋巴管内接种方法在传统接种产生的免疫力不足或可用疫苗量有限的情况下特别适用。
