Researchers have shown off a new vaccine delivery method in an animal model, using dental floss to introduce vaccine via the tissue between the teeth and gums. The testing found that the new technique stimulates the production of antibodies in mucosal surfaces, such as the lining of the nose and lungs, showing the possibility of humans receiving vaccines via dental floss in the future.

“Mucosal surfaces are important, because they are a source of entry for pathogens, such as influenza and COVID,” says Harvinder Singh Gill, corresponding author of a paper on the work.

“However, if a vaccine is given by injection, antibodies are primarily produced in the bloodstream throughout the body, and relatively few antibodies are produced on mucosal surfaces.

“But we know that when a vaccine is given via the mucosal surface, antibodies are stimulated not only in the bloodstream, but also on mucosal surfaces,” says Gill, who is a professor in nanomedicine at North Carolina State University.

“This improves the body’s ability to prevent infection, because there is an additional line of antibody defense before a pathogen enters the body.”

This is where the junctional epithelium comes in. The term epithelium applies to the tissue that lines the surface of your body parts, such as the lining of your lungs, stomach, and intestines. Most epithelial tissues include robust barriers that are designed to keep bad things—from viruses to dirt—from entering your blood stream. But the junctional epithelium is different.

The junctional epithelium is a thin layer of tissue located in the deepest part of the pocket between the tooth and the gum, and it lacks the barrier features found in other epithelial tissues. The lack of a barrier allows the junctional epithelium to release immune cells to fight bacteria—you find these immune cells in your saliva, as well as between your teeth and gums.

“Because the junctional epithelium is more permeable than other epithelial tissues—and is a mucosal layer—it presents a unique opportunity for introducing vaccines to the body in a way that will stimulate enhanced antibody production across the body’s mucosal layers,” says Gill.

Read the full article about receiving vaccines via dental floss by Matt Shipman at Futurity.