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. 2025 Oct 3:64:127692.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.127692. Epub 2025 Sep 9.

Chitosan-based Oral DNA vaccine elicits mucosal immunity and reduces Helicobacter pylori colonization in mice

Yi-Lin Chan  1 , Yu-Pin Chao  2 , Tsung-Lin Li  3 , Kuang-Wen Liao  4
Affiliations

Chitosan-based Oral DNA vaccine elicits mucosal immunity and reduces Helicobacter pylori colonization in mice

Yi-Lin Chan et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

Oral vaccination offers a promising strategy for controlling Helicobacter pylori infection, particularly in the face of rising antibiotic resistance and reinfection rates. In this study, we developed a chitosan nanoparticle-mediated oral DNA vaccine encoding the urease B subunit of H. pylori. The chitosan-DNA nanoparticles exhibited stability under simulated gastric and duodenal conditions and demonstrated efficient transgene expression in vivo without cytotoxicity. Oral administration of the vaccine induced strong mucosal IgA and systemic IgG responses, accompanied by elevated IFN-γ and IL-17 production. Immunized mice exhibited a 150-fold reduction in gastric H. pylori colonization and significant inhibition of urease activity compared to controls. Histological analysis revealed enhanced immune cell infiltration associated with bacterial clearance. These findings suggest that chitosan-based oral DNA vaccination can elicit protective mucosal and systemic immunity and represents a promising approach for the prevention of H. pylori infection.

Keywords: Chitosan nanoparticles; Helicobacter pylori; Mucosal immunity; Oral DNA vaccine; Urease B.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Yi-Lin Chan reports financial support was provided by National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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