Mucosal immunity in sheep and implications for mucosal vaccine development

As the majority of infectious agents affect or initiate the infectious process at mucosal surfaces, mucosal immune responses play a crucial role in determining the outcome of infection. Consequently, there is an increasing interest in the development of vaccines, capable of generating robust mucosal immune responses. In this review, we provide an overview of current knowledge of sheep mucosal immunity, summarise progress in the development of mucosal vaccines in sheep and highlight areas of research which may result in the development of more effective mucosal vaccines. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.