Type I IFN is a powerful mucosal adjuvant for a selective intranasal vaccination against influenza virus in mice and affects antigen capture at mucosal level

In view of the increasing interest in mucosal vaccination, we investigated whether type I IFN could act as adjuvant of an intranasally administered influenza vaccine. A single intranasal administration of IFNαβ-adjuvanted vaccine in anesthetized C3H/HeN mice was capable of protecting the totality of animals against virus challenge, while vaccine alone was only partially effective. To mimic intranasal vaccine administration in man and to limit vaccine delivery strictly to nasal mucosa, we used a second method of vaccination based on vaccine fractionation in six doses and intranasal instillation in non-anesthetized mice. By using this vaccination schedule, IFNαβ-adjuvanted vaccine also prevented mice from disease development and induced an efficient long lasting immune response. Further experiments showed that IFNαβ increased the percentage of antigen-associated phagocytes in the nasal mucus layer, thus suggesting a new possible mechanism of action for type I IFN as an adjuvant.