Throughout history a diversity of animal species have been used and studied extensively in the development of vaccines for the benefit of humans and animals alike. As mice are a relatively easy species to maintain, handle and manipulate, and have the advantage of being cost effective, they are commonly employed as animal models in the investigation of immunisation strategies against mucosal associated pathogens. Vaccine research against the human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is extensively conducted in a mouse model and typically uses intra-gastric administration for the testing of potential vaccine candidates. An inherent complication with this route, however, is that the vaccine constituents may be inadequately delivered to sites of specific immunity and consequently may not be the optimal method for vaccine delivery. In the present study a mouse model of H. pylori infection was used to determine the efficacy of alternate mucosal routes of immunisation from examination of protective immunity, immune responses and the practical aspects of vaccine administration. Commencing with the optimisation of intra-intestinal immunisation, the direct injection of a H. pylori vaccine to initiator sites of the mucosal immune system established baseline data of dose rates for the comparative analysis of intra-gastric, intra-nasal and intra-rectal immunisation. Following the development of simple administration techniques whilst maintaining the welfare of the animals, intra-nasal immunisation was shown to elicit the highest level of prophylaxis against H. pylori challenge. Effective prophylaxis was also shown to be dependent upon a specific ratio of the vaccine constituents. When using whole cell lysate of H. pylori and the mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin, the ratio of antigen:adjuvant for optimal protective immunity was 10:1. The outcomes of this study have proved conclusively the necessity for optimisation of all aspects of immunisation in an animal model of infection. / Master of Science (Hons)

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