RESEARCH

Background and Objectives

In order to develop mucosal vaccines as universal vaccine against infectious diseases and allergies, vaccine materials such as antigen delivery system and adjuvant should be developed.
In this project, we have been focusing on the development of prospective vaccine materials based on the uniqueness of mucosal immune system and immunological function of intestinal environmental factors (e.g., dietary materials and commensal bacteria).

Overview of our research

1. The development of effective vaccine materials based on the intestinal environmental factors

This project aims to reveal the immunological function of gut environmental factors such as dietary materials (e.g., lipids, vitamins, and herbs) and commensal bacteria (e.g., Alcaligenes and probiotics) and apply their functional metabolites and/or analogues to vaccine materials to promote active or quiescent immunity without disrupting immunological homeostasis.

2. Elucidation of unique features of mucosal immune system for the development of mucosal vaccine and diagnostic reagents

As the target of mucosal vaccine, we have elucidated the uniqueness of IgA-producing plasma cells. Another interest is mast cells. Especially, we have aimed to apply monoclonal antibodies specific for mast cells to the mucosal vaccine and diagnostic system against infectious and allergic diseases.