Recent progress in mucosal vaccine development: potential and limitations

Most pathogens access the body through the mucosal membranes. Therefore, effective vaccines that protect at these sites are much needed. However, despite early success with the live attenuated oral polio vaccine over 50 years ago, only a few new mucosal vaccines have been subsequently launched. This is partly due to problems with developing safe and effective mucosal adjuvants. In the past decade, however, the successful development of live attenuated mucosal vaccines against influenza virus and rotavirus infections has boosted interest in this field, and great expectations for new mucosal vaccines lie ahead. Here, I discuss the expanding knowledge and strategies used in the development of mucosal vaccines.