A therapeutic vaccine for mucosal candidiasis.

Persistent and recurrent infection of mucosal surfaces with Candida albicans is common, ranging from a nuisance to a life threatening clinical problem. No effective prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine has been developed. We have studied a mouse model of oral candida infection to identify regulatory and effector molecules of T cell activation as parameters of induced immunity, and here describe the use of this model to determine an optimal immunisation strategy. Oral immunisation with the blastospore yeast form (but not subcutaneous immunisation) induced clinical immunity, with a shift in parameters of cytokine response characterised by an early and sustained production of both IFN-gamma and IL-4 from antigen-stimulated cervical node T lymphocytes.