Afferent lymphatic cannulation as a model system to study innate immune responses to infection and vaccination.

The afferent lymphatics consist of the cells and immunomodulatory signals that are involved in the early response to peripheral stimuli. Examination of this compartment in both homeostatic and stimulatory conditions permits the analysis of the innate biological pathways responsible for the generation of an adaptive immune response in the lymph node. Afferent lymphatic cannulation is therefore an ideal model system to study cellular migration and antigen dispersal kinetics during infection and vaccination. Utilisation of these lymphatic cannulation models has demonstrated the ability to both increase current understanding of infectious diseases, vaccine delivery systems and has the potential to target effector cells and molecules that may be used as novel therapeutic or vaccine targets.