A research team from Trinity College Dublin has introduced a novel vaccination strategy poised to redefine protection against respiratory infections. Published in Nature Microbiology, their study reveals that a nasally-delivered, antibiotic-inactivated Bordetella pertussis (AIBP) vaccine not only prevents severe disease but also curbs bacterial transmission — a long-sought achievement in vaccine development.
Led by Professor Kingston Mills and Dr Davoud Jazayeri of Trinity’s School of Biochemistry and Immunology, the research introduces a needle-free mucosal vaccine platform that induces durable local immunity directly at the infection site. This approach could transform the prevention of whooping cough and revolutionise the market for respiratory bacterial vaccines, addressing an urgent global need for advanced immunisation technologies.
Professor Kingston Mills stated, “We’ve applied our understanding of protective immune pathways to engineer a fundamentally different kind of vaccine. By stimulating immunity where infections begin, at the respiratory mucosa, we can offer stronger protection and potentially interrupt community transmission.”
Current whooping cough vaccines, while vital, have significant limitations. They protect infants from severe illness but fail to prevent bacterial colonisation in the nose and throat, allowing continued community spread. The global resurgence of pertussis, despite high vaccination coverage, underscores the demand for improved vaccines.
The Trinity team’s innovation focuses on intranasal delivery of antibiotic-inactivated Bordetella pertussis. This method activates a distinct T-cell-driven mucosal immune response, shielding both the lungs and upper respiratory tract without triggering unwanted systemic inflammation.
Preclinical studies demonstrated that AIBP provides complete protection against infection in the lungs and nasal cavity, outperforming current acellular pertussis vaccines. These findings suggest that AIBP could serve as both a next-generation pertussis vaccine and a versatile platform adaptable to other pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Initially funded by a Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future Award to Professor Mills, this research is now advancing under the ARC Hub for Therapeutics, a €32 million national translational research initiative administered by Research Ireland and co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.
